Something In Common
by Mvctar Avrelivs
Summary: PART ONE OF SEVEN: Raven finds herself teaming up with the most unlikely of allies when an unholy covenant imprisons her friends. First in a series of seven. Constructive criticism welcomed and needed. Finished. WARNING: FEMSLASH
1. Chapter 2: Personae Dramatis

**Chapter Two: Personae Dramatis**

The gigantic humanoid robot leapt into the charred ruins of the city block it had leveled, its weapons at the ready.

The silence was oppressive. It did nothing to calm the pilot's nerves, already tensed to snapping point.

It hoisted its massive blaster rifle, the pilot slowly scanning the horizon for the enemy he knew was lying in wait, but where?

Left-

-crunching masonry-

-point-

-FIRE!

The pilot let off several blasts of superheated plasma before he realized that what he heard was simply the shell of a warehouse finally falling down. He let out a sigh of relief-

-a moment before his rival's guided missile smashed into his Mech's head from behind, destroying the cockpit and all within.

"Hey, no fair!" the pilot said.

"Sorry BB, but all's fair in love and war, you know. 'Specially war." Cyborg said, as he watched his Mech cavort around the screen in a strange victory dance.

"They look amused, Raven. Perhaps we should partake of their electronic gaming activities after this?" Starfire said to her friend across the dining table in between bites of her breakfast.

"Thanks, but I prefer to spend my time doing something other than Street Mecha Fighters 1000K." Raven said, sipping her tea. "Besides, I thought we were going to the mall today."

She did not really like those little shopping excursions, but she knew that she could not forever remain in her shell, not if she wanted to be part of the Titans. And there was few other things that she wanted so badly.

She looked around at her fellow Titans, Beast Boy and Cyborg at their PlayBoX-Station and Starfire eating her whatever-it-was-with-mustard. She felt a little jealous of them, to be honest. All of them had their own families-even if the Titans were disbanded for some reason, they would have someone to go back to. Even Terra had Slade. Now that was someone she didn't want to think about.

But for her, 'family', at least in the biological sense meant a demon for a father and a mother driven mad by the sheer act of Raven's 'conception'.

The stark reality that she was a bastard child born of rape.

This meant, that for all intents and purposes the Titans _were_ her family, and if that meant putting up with the mall once in a while, well, families compromise with each other sometimes, right?

Despite all this, she understood that it did not change her situation-she had no family. At least, none that she could truly call her own.

The door to the rec room opened to reveal a still-sleepy Robin stretching as he entered. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"BB's sore 'cos I totally whooped his butt."

"I'm not sore!"

"Yes you are."

"Okay, I'm sore, so what? I still wanna rematch!"

"After breakfast. I'm starved."

"Scared?"

"Hey, you're the guy who can turn into a chicken."

Robin laughed and left them to their argument to join Raven and Starfire at the dining table. "So, nothing happening?"

"No, Robin, it's been perfectly peaceful, like a sunrise on Gandar Prime!" Starfire squealed.

"It has been surprisingly quiet." Raven confirmed.

Robin got a Pepsi out of the fridge. "So you guys doing anything today?" It wasn't often that days like this came around, and he wanted to take full advantage of it.

(scene change)

"Is this worth it?" Gizmo said to Mammoth as their boat cut across the waves of the Pacific Ocean, the setting sun on the horizon.

"Dunno, but if the boss said, it's important, it's important."

"I don't know if you two've noticed, but we're taking orders from a wooden puppet." Jinx said, from behind them.

"Yeah, but it beats Juvie." Mammoth said.

The three of them were here after the Puppet King hired their services from the HAEYP, but considering what his ultimate plans were, they would have worked for free. Not that they set him back very much. Thanks to the Titans, their reputation as the HAEYP's rising stars was utterly destroyed, and their prices dropped accordingly.

A beeping noise from the boat's console attracted their attention. "Looks like Trident's found it."

"Let's tell the boss then."

(scene change)

Within his secret base beneath the warehouse district, the Puppet King gloated. "Excellent work," the Puppet King said. "Bring her in."

"Can we trust her?"

"We's criminows, Ovie. Can we trust each other?" Mad Mod said from behind him, where he was playing cards with Killer Moth.

"Hah! That'll be the day!" Killer Moth said.

The Puppet King turned to Overload. "I understand your apprehensions. But when I had the Titans under my control, I saw into their minds. I saw that this Blackfire was someone so reviled, her own people have disowned her. Exactly the sort of person we're looking for, don't you think?"

He clenched his fist as his voice filled with hate. "Exactly the sort of person to help us destroy the Titans."

(scene change)

Blackfire opened her eyes. The crash had been worse than she had expected.

She was in some large, dark chamber. But despite having no lights she could see, the floor was fully illuminated, bare save for the platform upon which she lay, and one damn big fishman with a tri-

At a speed where she almost blurred, Blackfire jumped up and seized Trident's throat before throwing him aside. He raised his weapon, but before he could do anything, Blackfire kicked it out of his hands before her foot smashed into the side of his head in another roundhouse kick.

"Had enough yet?" Blackfire asked. Evidently not, for Trident rose again and charged.

"That's stupid," Blackfire said, lowering her body and clenching both fists together. At the very last moment, she brought them both up to crash into Trident's chin, knocking him down again.

"How do you like that? Big bad brought down by bigger and badder." Blackfire exulted, before planting her boot on Trident's chest. "Now, where's my shuttle?"

"Behind you." a voice behind her growled.

Combat reflexes taking over, Blackfire managed to dodge the energy blast a split second after the other Trident fired.

"Oh, so you've got a friend?"

"More like a brother." Trident said, getting up. "Now we'll find out how inferior you truly are!"

The second Trident fired his weapon at the same time the first charged Blackfire, but this time, Blackfire was ready for them. She ducked the blast and brought the second Trident down with twin bolts from her eyes, followed up by two more bolts from her fists that downed the other.

"Nothing can withstand Overload!" Again, the voice came from behind her. Facing her opponent, Blackfire saw that this being was no fish, but a humanoid energy form, probably electricity, save for a small microchip-like device where the head would have been.

The flutter of a thousand wings from behind her made her turn again. The opponent behind her this time was the size of the thing in front of her, but that was where the similarity ended. This guy appeared to be a gigantic human/moth hybrid, with thousands of smaller moths orbiting him.

Time for evasive action, at least for now. Blackfire flew upwards followed by the moths, and then she suddenly flew down towards Overload as if to divebomb him. As she had expected, he raised his 'hands' to fry her with electricity, when she suddenly turned at the last minute, giving his electricity a free path to the following carnivorous moths, the majority of which were not as agile as Blackfire, who having built up some impressive speed, skimmed across the floor at just an inch or two above it before flying upwards to uppercut Killer Moth.

"You may have defeated that worthless biological, but I am Overlo-"

"Oh shut up!" Blackfire said. This time she just aimed a bolt at Overload, with unexpected results: the bolt simply made him grow.

"HA! See the use of foolish biological tactics against the majesty that is Overload? Why do you keep on firing at me? Do you not know that every strike upon Overload only makes him stronger?"

"Just want to see how big you can grow." Blackfire replied, continuing her barrage.

Too late, Overload realized what she was doing, and took aim. What he had not counted on was the fact that for him, unleashing so much energy, in the kind of emotional state that did not allow for much self-control, was like a dam breaking.

And he didn't even hit me, Blackfire thought as she watched Overload's 'head' fall to the ground.

"See? Even with the element of surprise as well as strength of numbers against her, Miss Blackfire has still won."

"Who said that? You want a piece of me as well?" Blackfire snarled. She was tired of these surprises and was eager to return the favor. However, nothing could have prepared her for what came out of the shadows.

"You're…you're a toy!" Blackfire said, a mixture of surprise (and not a little revulsion) in her voice.

"No, ma'am, just a puppet who's learned to pull his own strings. Mr. Mod, you can stop now." the Puppet King said, and in an instant, the entire dark room, along with the combatants vanished, to be replaced by an equally empty, equally large, but far more brightly-lit chamber, with the Puppet King standing in the middle of it.

"Let me guess, you have a proposal for me." Blackfire said, arms crossed and trying to ignore the suddenly blinding light. She'll be damned if she was going to allow a toy to control the conversation.

"Why yes, I do," the Puppet King said calmly. "It involves the group known as the Teen Titans. I trust you've heard of them?"

Now this was interesting. "Tell me more," Blackfire said.

(scene change)

"This is the Justice League Watchtower to approaching ship: Identify yourself." Superman spoke into the intercom.

"Great, the world's greatest superhero, and you're doing immigration work. You know, we really need some grunts around here, you know. They can do all the cleaning work, the immigration stuff, that sort of thing-whaaat?" the Flash asked when he saw the Green Lantern give him a raised eyebrow.

"You're just looking for an excuse to escape cleaning duty, aren't you?"

"Hey, I'm the world's fastest man, not the world's best super-janitor."

"That's painfully obvious," Green Lantern a.k.a. John Stewart said, throwing a used candy wrapper into a wastebasket.

"Hey, that wasn't there last time I cleaned."

"And when was that?"

"Err…"

"My point exactly."

Superman got up from the comm console. "I don't like this. They haven't replied to any of our hails, not in any language or frequency."

"Maybe they just like their privacy." Flash said.

"It's basic interstellar courtesy," Green Lantern replied. "You enter some guy's space, you give some ID. Especially if it's that guy's home world you're talking about."

"John's right. I suggest we-"

The intercom crackled. "This is the Centauri Law Council ship Kiep'r, Officer Kai speaking. I apologize for our lack of response, but our communications equipment were damaged traveling through your asteroid field, and we have only just fixed it."

"Officer Kai?" Green Lantern asked. "That name sounds familiar."

"Indeed it should. We were here a year ago in pursuit of a thief."

"We?" Flash asked.

"Yes, my partner, Officer Cron, and I. We have come to your planet to track a fugitive and humbly request permission to enter your space."

"Who is this fugitive, if I may ask?" Superman spoke.

"Though it pains us to admit it, the fugitive is the same thief whom we pursued two Earth years ago, a certain Komand'r. Apparently, we underestimated her capabilities, and she managed to escape from one of our prison facilities."

"Well, what do you think?" Superman asked his two comrades.

"Well, they could be telling the truth. That is certainly a Centauri Law Council insignia on that ship. I can't place the make, but last I heard, they were considering plans for making new models. This could be one of them. But just to be sure…"

He pressed the intercom button. "This is Green Lantern John Stewart. You will be allowed passage into Earth space, provided you allow me to accompany you."

"Agreed. The assistance of a Green Lantern would be most welcome. Please prepare your docking facilities. We have a passenger on board who wishes to speak with you."

Half an hour later, the Kiep'r was in the Watchtower dock, and the Lord Caretaker, flanked by Officers Kai and Cron sat in the Watchtower's meeting room. The Flash was acting as Earth's cultural ambassador, much to the exasperation of the Green Lantern and Superman.

"So you guys are really sentient colonies of bacteria? In robotic biosuits? That's freaky!"

"Flash?" John said, pulling the Flash aside.

"Yeah, GL?"

"Shut up and let me do the talking, alright?"

"Hey, no problem…bossy," the Flash said, the last word under his breath.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior, Lord Caretaker," Superman said.

"No, not at all," the Lord Caretaker replied. "I have heard much about the forthrightness as well as humor of humans, and I have so far found it rather amusing."

"See? He likes it," the Flash said to Green Lantern.

" 'So far', remember?" The Green Lantern turned to face their guest, "Lord Caretaker, forgive me for my…forthrightness, but what brings you to Earth?"

"As my two officers have told you, we are in pursuit of a certain fugitive, the incarceration of whom is imperative to the Centauri Empire."

"Huh?" the Flash asked.

"It's important that they get her."

"Her?"

"Princess Komand'r of Tamaran," the Lord Caretaker said. "Blackfire in Common Human. She was apprehended by the Empire two years ago, with the assistance of the group known Teen Titans. They are your apprentices, I understand?"

"Not really. The Titans are there to handle mostly Earth based matters, what with the League having a far bigger interstellar role nowadays," Superman replied.

"This means that we're aware of many cultural rules and customs," Green lantern said, "including that under Centauri law, no sentences may be carried out unless the Lord Caretaker is available as a last appeal. So…?"

"It is not so much the crimes, but the situation she has placed us in. If Komand'r is not apprehended immediately, it might upset certain delicate political and diplomatic balances between many races, the Centauri one of them. And since she escaped from one of our facilities, it was necessary to show that we are taking this seriously. Hence, my presence here." The Lord Caretaker also quickly sketched what they knew about Komand'r, including her time with the Teen Titans.

"So, we start at the Titans, then." Superman said.

"You think we need the rest of the League for this?" Flash asked.

"Your offer is generous, but unnecessary," the Lord Caretaker said. "The assistance of the Green Lantern would be more than enough. Komand'r is a mere thief, her reputation notwithstanding; the danger she brings is more political than anything else."

He added, "If it is possible, we would like the use of whatever craft you may possess. We cannot afford warning her with the presence of a Centauri vessel, you understand."

"No problem, I'll take you. You sure you two'll be comfy over here by your lonesomes?" Green Lantern asked, turning to his two friends.

" 'Lonesome'," Superman replied. "I have a meeting with the UN in an hour."

"So I have the base all to myself?" the Flash asked, mischief in his eye.

"Yes you do, and last I remember, you've got cleaning duty," Green Lantern said, pointing at the mop and bucket in the corner, "and if this place isn't as clean as my drill sergeant would've wanted it, I'm showing every pretty girl I meet pictures of you at the last Christmas party."

"…I hate you."


	2. Chapter 1: Flights And Landings

First off, allow me to say that I do not happen to own any of the characters detailed within; be them theirs who owns them. I needs must also warn you that while I plan to use as much information as I can from both the comics and cartoon, I will also, in the tradition of the finest Hollywood stories, alter what I must for dramatic effect.

Also, I will not be using any materiel from the third season, seeing as the all-wise (sic) buggers who run CN here in SE Asia haven't decided to show it here.

Now that that's over, let us begin with a bang...

**Something In Common**

**Chapter One: Flights And Landings**

**-A Centauri high-security orbital penitentiary facility orbiting a small moon-**

Alarms and klaxons blared throughout the facility. A moment before, the sound of a massive explosion had rocked throughout its corridors. Within the complex, heavily armed guards struggled to keep order. Outside, Centauri patrol ships scanned the inky darkness. Their captain heard their reports and sighed. His superiors weren't going to like this very much.

"Warden, it appears that all prisoners have been accounted for, except Prisoner 49."

The Warden cursed. "The Lord Caretaker is not going to be pleased. This is not only a matter of security, but a matter of diplomatic sensitivity."

"Sir?"

"Prisoner 49 was a member of alien royalty."

"With all due respect, sir, I thought she was … disowned."

"That does not reduce the volatility of the situation. It may even worsen it."

"Yes sir."

"There is nothing more your troops can do?"

"Not without faster ships, sir."

"Very well. Get back to your work then. I must contact my fellow Wardens."

Officers Kai and Cron strode into the Centauri Hall Of Judgment, where the Lord Caretaker, head of Centauri law awaited them.

"You requested our presence before you, my Lord?" Kai asked.

The Lord Caretaker nodded. "I know that the two of you are familiar with the fugitive known as Komand'r. A year ago, you were sent to apprehend her, a task that you completed with more than expected success."

"With all due respect, we had help from a group of Earthbound metahumans, one of which included her sister, my Lord." Cron said.

"Your modesty is commendable, Officer."

"With all due respect, my Lord, it is not modesty, but truth." Kai added.

The Lord Caretaker smiled. It appeared that what he heard of these officers was true. "Very well then. I trust you have heard of the incident at the station where she was being held?"

"Yes, my Lord. If I may say so, I have seen the report on the incident, and both I and my colleague believe no one save Komand'r deserves blame." Cron added.

"Agreed. But that does not change the fact that one of the Galaxy's most notorious criminals is now loose. The Tamaranians are demanding an explanation of why we did not hand them over to their authorities, and, considering the political situation there, I could not tell them that their facilities aren't adequate without undermining King Meand'r's authority. We need to prove our ability to them."

"Yes sir."

"Do you know where she may have gone? With the disgrace of the Thanagarian warrior caste and the Imperium still in tatters, I have advisors telling me she has gone to ground with any of them, not to mention the ever present galactic underworld. It may even be possible that she has joined one of the rival houses of Tamaran."

"Permission to speak freely, my Lord?" Kai asked.

"Permission granted."

"I believe she may be returning to Earth. After we apprehended her, she vowed vengeance upon the sister who had helped us capture her. The Thanagarians and Imperium might be useful only as auxiliary information sources."

"And you believe that she would put vengeance over all other criminal concerns?"

"During our pursuit, we discovered that Komand'r was a prideful woman, more than anything else. It is a logical conclusion."

"Very well then. As long as you do not break standard laws, do what you think is necessary. I will give you as many resources as I can."

Mad Mod scratched out yet another chalk mark as he sat in his jail cell, but he couldn't care less how much longer he had to rot in the clink. He had survived Napoleon, two World Wars, an' 'oo knows how many Yankee wars, and he'll be damned if he was going to allow a bunch of tiddlers to break 'im. He had plans for 'em, he did.

Too bad all of them involved being on the other side of the cell doors.

Mad Mod slumped even further than he normally did. Yeah, he had survived Napoleon, two World Wars, an' 'oo knows how many Yankee wars, all by not being stupid, and that was exactly what he was being when he thought he could be able to escape this hellhole before he bit it.

"Tch, tch, tch, feeling sorry for ourselves, are we?" someone said in a sinister whisper from the darkness in a corner.

"Wot? 'Oose dere?" Mod croaked.

"Someone very interested in your freedom, Mr. Mod."

"Yeh? Must b' someone int'rested in plastic surgery too, wot wiff you 'oidin' in th' shadows an'all."

The voice laughed. "You could say that. After all, shocks like me aren't exactly what a decrepit old man wants to see, especially if he's got a weak heart."

"Roit yew, Oi don't know 'oo yew are, but Oi'm pre'ey sure this old man can learn yew a thinger two," Mad Mod said angrily, voice rising with his body.

"Please sit down, Mr. Mod. I don't wish to fight you. In fact, I'm here to offer you the two things I know you desire most: Your freedom, and the destruction of the Titans."

Mad Mod paused. " 'Ere, wot?"

"As I said, your freedom, and the destruction of the Titans."

"Yeah, pull the other one, 's got bells on."

"Oh well, if that is the way you feel, I'll just have to leave you here then."

" 'Ello-'ello-'ello, no need t'be 'asty! Wot's th' catch then? Yew must want sumfink too, roit?"

"All I want is what I'm offering you: Freedom to do what I want and the destruction of the Teen Titans."

Mad Mod settled down, smiling. "Oh, so those stroppy li'l buggers did done yew over too, eh?"

"And all I want is a little help in finishing them off," the voice finished. "With the option to extend a working relationship, of course."

Mad Mod sat silent for w while, thinking, but there was only grim resolve in his voice when he said, "Orl roit, let's say Oi'm in. Just show me where yer escape tunnel is, and we'll discuss-"

"No, no escape tunnels. Just you, me, temporarily disabled security systems and two pairs of fast feet."

"Oi, Oi don't know if yew've noticed it, but me Eton days is over, yeah?" Mad Mod said, indicating his aged self.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," said the voice.

A blue shaft of light flew from the darkness and impacted Mad Mod, washing him over with what seemed like endless waves of pain so intense he could not even scream before he passed out.

When he came to, it was still night, but Mod was in no mood to care about that. He lunged into the darkness and pulled out-

"-a puppet? Orl this toim've been tawkin' t' a bleedin' toy?"

"Yes, Mr. Mod," the Puppet King replied, "Except this time, you're not as far 'and up', as you were before," he continued, indicating the mirror behind Mod.

Mad Mod turned around, and what he saw was infinitely more unsettling than any talking doll.

He was a handsome young man in his mid twenties, at most.

"I don't think your Eton days are very far behind as far as your body is concerned. Now, the alarms should be activating in at least three minutes, so shall we go?"

The stolen Centauri cargo ship escaped from warp outside the asteroid belt of the Sol System, while inside, Blackfire contemplated her options.

She knew from her sources in the Thanagarian underworld that they were forced to leave Earth in a hurry after their defeat, and that the humans would have undoubtedly used the technology left behind to their advantage, including Thanagarian tracking systems.

But as they left a few things behind, they had come away with something, including system data. One of the interesting things about Earth was that unlike most other planets, it was constantly being pelted by interstellar debris-indeed, it may have even caused the birth of life there. And that's where opportunity presented itself.

Blackfire went into one of the small shuttles. As the shuttle left the ship, she remotely activated the ship's self-destruct. She smiled when she thought of the crew of the ship, left stranded on a Centauri Star Prison, reacting to the fact that the cargo onboard, mostly valuable ores and the like, had been turned into the interstellar elements they had come from.

**-At one of the new STAr (Stellar Tracking Array) facilities near Washington-**

Lt. Gwen Berman shifted her rifle to her other shoulder as she patrolled, a foot still on Cloud Nine over her recent posting here. These STAr facilities were Earth's first usage of adapted Thanagarian technology, and everyone staffing these facilities, from the janitors to the heads had been handpicked from all over the world by the newly formed UN Stellar Council. Used for both military and scientific purposes, these facilities were a symbol of the increasing cooperation between the different peoples of Earth.

Not that Gwen minded, especially if it brought her into contact with someone like Dr. Indra Vijayendran. He was the reason she was willing to work the graveyard shift, alone apart from him. She knew that at 28, she was too old to be having this kind of schoolgirl crush, but-

_Oh my God, he's looking at me_, she thought to herself as she walked toward his console. He smiled, and Gwen almost dropped her gun.

"Hi Gwen." he said pleasantly.

"Hi Doc. See anything interesting lately?" _Like a certain girl in uniform perhaps?_

"Nah, just the same old sky night in, night out. But who knows, interstellar anomalies are fickle things. For all you know, a star might go nova while I'm talking to you."

"Oh, cool." It was a sound of polite disinterest, and maybe, a hint of resentment that he spent so much time looking at the sky he forgot about what (and who) was on Earth. "Well, I better get back to my patrol now."

"Wait." Indra said, as her back turned.

Gwen turned. "Yes?" she asked, a bit of trepidation in her voice.

"What time do you get off work?" he asked. Was that nervousness? Gwen was too nervous to notice.

"Er, 8 a.m., same as you, Doc."

"Oh yeah, right."

"Yeah, 8 a.m. I go home take a shower and go to bed, you know, what with me staying up all night and all, you know," Gwen babbled. _Stop it girl! Stop it!_

"I was thinking, that maybe, after work, we go to the cafeteria and have a little breakfast together maybe?"

Gwen's mouth felt strangely dry as she replied, "Yeah, why not?"

"Okay…well, um, I've got to get back to work now, you know how it is."

"Yeah, Doc, well, see you."

"Gwen?"

"Yes?"

"Call me Indra."

Gwen smiled, that cute smile that Indra saw every time his mind wandered even a little, and walked off. Indra leaned back in his chair, and sighed happily, his mind far from work.

Even had he been paying full attention, however, he would have still been hard pressed to notice the small speck entering Earth's atmosphere…


	3. Chapter 3: War And Peace

**Chapter Three: War And Peace**

"That is my proposal," the Puppet King said. "What say you, Blackfire?"

"My help in destroying the Titans in exchange for my membership in this little organization of yours? Hmm…"

Blackfire considered the deal. It was tempting, very tempting, "but I'm going to have to refuse."

"Refuse?" the Puppet King said, a little note of danger in his voice.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll help you get rid of the Titans, trust me on that," Blackfire said, eyes glowing, "but I don't think I want to be tied down to you guys. Sorry." She added, not very sincerely.

"Fair enough." The Puppet King sighed. "Pity we could not come to a working agreement."

"Hey, there's a whole universe out there. Why settle for one dirtball planet? So, here's my deal: I'll help you beat the Titans, and you help me repair my ship so I can leave."

A smarmy voice with a Cockney accent boomed over the intercom. " 'T looks loik Blackfoire's th' only one 'oo go' some sleep t'night boss, 'cos't seems th' kiddies' 'ave come over t' play."

"The Titans," the Puppet King hissed. "Looks like you'll be going home early."

(scene change)

"You sure this is the place?" Beast Boy asked. The Titans had taken up a place overlooking an apparently abandoned warehouse turned nightclub, the letters 'GR SSY K OLL.' still visible on it.

"Hopefully," Robin replied. "According to my info, this is where all that stolen technology's going to."

"Awright then, let's go in there and bust some heads." Cyborg said, raising his gun arm.

"Wait, shouldn't we-" Starfire began.

"TITANS, GO!" Robin shouted.

"-proceed with caution?" Starfire finished as the male Titans rushed off.

"Men." Raven said under her breath, before she and Starfire followed.

"Uh, guys? This doesn't look like a high tech supervillain base." Cyborg said after they had entered. From what little light came through the dim windows, they saw the place was stripped bare of anything that might have proved useful. Most disturbingly, they did not have to blast their way in, much to Cyborg's disappointment- whoever had used the warehouse last had left a door unlocked and untrapped.

"Yeah, it just looks like someone had heh, heh, a warehouse sale!" Beast Boy cracked to the accompanying sighs of the other Titans.

"Jokes like that and they call _us_ criminal?" a voice high above behind them said.

That voice was familiar, thought Robin-too familiar. "That sounded like that Jinx girl," he said.

"But didn't we defeat them?" Starfire asked.

"Apparently not." Raven answered.

"You got that right, babe!" Gizmo answered in his annoyingly high pitched excuse for a voice, from a point directly opposite where Jinx's came from.

"What did he just call me?" Raven said. _Control yourself, Raven. Remember what happened to Dr. Light …_

_Remember what almost happened to your fam-friends…_

"He called you 'babe', babe." This time, they could see who had spoke as Mammoth emerged from the shadows in front of them, cracking his knuckles. "Y'know, this is going to be fun."

"I know I'll be smiling all the time I'm kicking your butt-again." Robin snarled, braver than he felt.

"Ooh, you really oughter' learn yerself some r'spect fer yer be'ers, me lit'l duckies!" Mad Mod said from Mammoth's right.

"Er, I'm not really an expert at this, but I don't think this is a good thing." Beast Boy said.

"Why do you biologicals always have to state the obvious?" Overload said, flashing into life to Mammoth's left.

"Eep." It was all Beast Boy could manage.

"You're afraid-I like that." Killer Moth said from directly behind them. Behind him, a thick steel wall rose from the ground to block the convenient entrance they had so foolishly taken.

"Try to leave some for us. All of us…" the Tridents chorused from both sides. And then, a new voice spoke.

"Tut, tut, tut. Always so confident, always so sure that no matter what happens, you'd come out tops. And you often do, don't you? A lesson I learned the hard way. But I learned it, and that's what counts, isn't it?" the Puppet King said, coming into view next to Mammoth.

"You…it can't be…" Cyborg uttered, shocked.

"I assure you, from one artificial to another, it's me, Cyborg."

"How?" Robin managed to choke out.

"Let's just say I've got friends in, hah, low places, Robin."

"I don't like this dream, make it stop!" Starfire moaned.

"Oh, no, dear sister, the nightmare's just begun." Blackfire said as she flew into view. The moment she had been waiting for all this time, the one force that had driven her for the past two years of Centauri incarceration, had finally come.

"Now that the introductions are complete," the Puppet King said, his painted mouth seemingly grinning even more ghoulishly now, "let's play."

(scene change)

The Green Lantern switched off the comm channel in the Javelin-7. "Still no response from the Titans." he told the Lord Caretaker. "Maybe they're out fighting crime."

"I understand," the Lord Caretaker said. "Should we wait for them?"

"I don't know. What do you guys think?" he asked to the ship's other two passengers.

"Unless the Lord Caretaker says otherwise, I believe it would be unwise to await the Titans. Every moment we delay, we give Komand'r the advantage of time, the one resource we cannot afford to spare." Officer Kai said, respectfully, in deference to his superior.

"Also, it is not impossible that she has already engaged the Titans. It's obvious what the benefit of speed would be if that was the case."

"All right, if you guys say-argh!" Green Lantern said as the ship rocked from a hit on its side. "What was that all about?"

"It appears that the shot came from there," the Lord Caretaker said, pointing at a brightly-lit structure below them from which the occasional energy bolt issued and light flashed.

"Is it the fugitive?" Cron asked.

"I don't know, but if something nasty's happening down there, I have to investigate."

"But the fugitive-"

"-must wait," the Lord Caretaker said. "The Green Lantern has a duty to his planet, a duty demanded by Galactic law. Laws that the Centauri helped create, and will obey."

"My apologies, my Lord. We will assist you if need be, Lantern Stewart." Cron answered respectfully.

"Thanks."

(scene change)

"A little help here!" Cyborg said, trying to fend off Gizmo's 'spider-claws' while dodging Overload's electric blasts.

"I'm kinda busy, Cy!" Robin said, as Killer Moth swooped from above and a Trident slashed from below.

"I'm coming, Cyborg!" Beast Boy said, having beat back the Trident attacking him. Suddenly, he found himself facing Jinx and Mammoth.

"I don't think so, tiger." Jinx said, wagging a finger.

"Tiger, heh, that's funny." Mammoth said.

"And you say my jokes are bad?" Beast Boy said.

"Not as bad as what's going to come to you." Jinx replied, as Mammoth advanced.

"That's bad," Beast Boy whimpered.

A few meters away from him, Starfire crashed into the concrete floor after a haymaker from her sister.

"You know, I could've just blasted you, but that was much more satisfying." Blackfire said, rubbing her fist.

"_Azerath Metrion Xinthos!"_ Raven's magical chant echoed in the empty warehouse as a Trident encased in a magical field crashed into Blackfire, sending her onto a wall and onto the ground.

Of the Titans, Raven seemed to be the one faring best. Around her, several Tridents lay unconscious. She could have done far worse, she knew.

She wished she didn't. She wished she couldn't.

Raven looked about her. The situation wasn't going well for the Titans-Blackfire was getting up, dazed but otherwise seemingly no worse for her fall, both Robin and Cyborg were outnumbered, Starfire still lay on the ground stunned, no matter what form Beast Boy took, Jinx's agility and Mammoth's size made up for it, and worst of all, neither Mad Mod or the Puppet King could be seen.

The darkness in which they were forced to fight in was no help either-half of the time they tried to hit their opponents they missed.

But their enemies didn't seem to have any problems.

Acting on a hunch, Raven closed her eyes and concentrated. She knew that to do so now, of all times and places, was exceedingly dangerous, but if the Titans were to have any chance of victory, the chance had to be taken.

She calmed her mind, and set it free.

Or at least, tried to. It ran into some sort of mental block, one that she wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

Mad Mod's work. Some sort of extremely subtle hypnosis, not really the mind control Raven was trained to sense, was at hard at work convincing the Titans that the warehouse was unlighted.

Even so, Raven would be able to tell if her mind was being influenced. Some strong shielding magic must have been at work here. But unless Mad Mod had somehow become a powerful warlock, that would meant that the Puppet King had somehow gained knowledge of black magic…

Never mind. It's time she fought back, really fought back. She focused her energies, and in an instant, broke the hypnosis's prevalent but weak control on her.

When she opened her eyes the light that shone temporarily blinded her, but her eyes adjusted quickly as she saw that the warehouse was only moderately well-lit, revealing crate upon crate stacked in the corners, as well as what seemed to be a control room in the middle of the central wall, a lift shaft at its base.

Mad Mod and the Puppet King. They must have run back there when the fight began.

Raven looked back at her friends. It appeared that her mental jaunt had taken only a few moments, the Titans still slowly losing to superior numbers.

Raven knew what she had to do. If she could get to the control room, she could reverse the hypnosis and then their opponent would be the ones finding themselves in the dark. She gathered her strength and flew to the control room.

As she got up, Blackfire saw Raven fly to the control room. She didn't care about that, however, or the fate of the repulsive Puppet King or decrepit Mod. Her sister lay in front of her, trying pitifully to get up.

Her sister Koriand'r.

Most beloved daughter of her father, King Meand'r and her mother, Queen Oliand'r, who died when they were children.

Suddenly, without warning, the memory hit her, and she whispered something, just out of a Trident's earshot.

"What'd you say?" it asked from behind her, startling her out of her reverie.

Like Raven, Blackfire's lapse seemed to have lasted but a few seconds. Regaining her composure, Blackfire shouted, "I said _fire _on her, on Raven! She's heading for the Puppet King!" while pointing to the rapidly accelerating form heading toward the control room.

She turned to her sister and continued, "I'll take care of this one."

Around her, the sounds of battle seemed to fade away into nothingness, drowned out as they were by the sound of her father's voice, her vision focusing entirely on her sister.

"For you, father." she said, her eyes and fists aglow with rage.

Raven's situation, however, was not quite so peaceful. She had at least three Tridents firing upon her, and what seemed to be two more moving to block her.

Raven knew that among the Titans, she was the only one with any real hope of resisting both the illusions and mind control that Mad Mod and the Puppet King were famous for. If she went down, she'll take all her friends with her.

Not going to happen.

"_Azerath Metrion Xinthos!"_ she cried when she saw the Tridents in front of her raise their weapons. Their tridents were immediately encased in dark energy as they were pushed backwards to point at the shaft doors.

And fired.

"Just a few more feet," Raven said to herself when there was a large explosion high above her and a large chunk of masonry fell in front of the shaft doors. Around her more chunks of rock and the like were falling around her.

At first, Raven thought the Mod and the Puppet King had activated some sort of self-destruct, when a gigantic silver ship followed the masonry down, crashing down with a thunderous roar. Raven caught herself enveloped in a cloud of dust, before a blow to her head suddenly rendered her vision from grey to black.

"Good, you're awake."

This gravelly sound of a voice through a vocal synthesizer was the first thing Raven heard when she woke up. She saw kneeling above her what seemed to be some alien in vaguely familiar golden armor.

"I…I know you, don't I?" Raven said. It seemed like the appropriate thing to say, after all the faux déjà vu that happened tonight.

The alien let out what seemed oddly like a short laugh. "You know my people, the Centauri, but as for me, I would be privileged indeed if I could count one such as you as a comrade," he said, helping her up. "Can you walk? Do you require any help?"

"No thanks," Raven said, rubbing the spot on her forehead where she felt the blow. Even now, she could feel the bump. "What happened?"

"We were here with the metahuman known as the Green Lantern in order to bring back a certain Komand'r of Tamaran to jail-you've know of her, I trust?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Ah. In any case we were trying to find her when we saw what seemed to be a battle taking place in this structure, and we decided to offer assistance when what appeared to my sensors as a large bolt of electricity hit the ship."

Then it hit Raven, shocking her out of her daze. "My friends, where are they?" she asked, ice in her heart.

The Centauri paused, before answering, "…We do not know. My two escorts and the Green Lantern are searching for them right now, as well as the other combatants involved."

Despite his knowledge of Human peculiarities, the Lord Caretaker was still unprepared for Raven's reaction, when she rushed up to him and grabbed his shoulders. "What do you mean, you don't know?" her voice betraying no emotion. The rubble around her slowly cracking and lifting off encased in dark energies however, did.

"These people were obviously dear to you, weren't they?" Not waiting for an answer, he continued, "And wouldn't their cause, no matter what the case may be, be better served by focus and discipline, rather than blind emotion barely leashed?" the Lord Caretaker said, his voice equally calm.

Raven slowly let go of the Lord Caretaker, and brought her emotions under control. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"Simply concern for your friends. Understandable, and within limits, forgivable."

"Lord Caretaker!"

"Yes, Officer Cron?"

Raven turned. She saw a Centauri officer come over to them over a pile of rubble. Noticing Raven was conscious, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"A little bruised, but yes."

The officer made what looked like a salute with his claw arm, and turned to the Lord Caretaker. "We managed to find some manner of secret tunnel beneath this structure, where we think the Titans and their captors escaped. Unfortunately, as we tried to investigate, we failed to spot hidden explosives that effectively blocked our progress."

"Captors?" Raven and the Lord Caretaker asked at the same time.

"Yes, sir. As we have not found the Titans yet, Lantern Stewart has assumed their enemies have kidnapped them for purposes unknown."

"Is it possible that they may simply wish quieter circumstances in which to rid themselves of their enemies?"

He turned to Raven. "I apologize for the content, but possibilities-"

"I understand." Raven replied.

Officer Cron continued, "I asked Lantern Stewart that same question, and he disagreed. He said that despite the apparent chaos, there were signs that this was prepared meticulously. He said the speed at which both the Titans and their opponents disappeared, the signs of vehicle tracks in the tunnels, as well as the Titans' potential for useful information, not to mention ransom point to a desire to keep the Titans alive, at least for now. I chose to defer to Lantern Stewart's military experience for this one." Officer Cron said, slightly more casual now.

"At the very least, it will give us some hope," the Lord Caretaker agreed.

Raven knew that statement was more for her benefit than out of any real hope on his part. Her control over her own emotions gave her more than usual insight into the emotions of others, and she could tell that the Lord Caretaker had already written off the Titans as dead.

"Do you have any good news?" she asked, rubbing her forehead. Officer Cron was about to answer in the negative when they heard Officer Kai shout.

"Good news! I have found a survivor!"

"That was quick." Raven said as she followed the other two Centauri over to Officer Kai, where they were joined by the Green Lantern.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said.

Lying there before them, underneath a pile of rubble, was the unconscious Blackfire.


	4. Chapter 4: Chains And Cages

**Chapter Four: Chains And Cages**

"Uhh…not again." Blackfire said as she awoke from unconsciousness again-"What the?"

She found herself restrained within the gleaming metal walls of what seemed to be a Centauri holding cell.

"Ah, it looks like the fugitive has awoken," a deep voice intoned from behind her, before the Lord Caretaker stepped in front of her, arms behind his back. If there was anyone else in the room, they weren't making their presence known.

"Ooh look, it's the Lord Caretaker!" Blackfire sneered. "Come to admit the almighty Centauri made a mistake?"

"Yes, and to correct that mistake as well," he replied calmly.

"So I guess I'm on my way to whatever passes for Centauri justice again," Blackfire said angrily. "So what? I'll just escape again."

"Again? I'm sorry, Blackfire, but I must have forgotten to inform you. We are still in Earth orbit."

If the last five words shocked Blackfire, as the Lord Caretaker knew they must have, she did a tolerable job of hiding it. "Still on Earth? Why?"

"It appears that during our attempt to apprehend you, circumstances led to the capture of all the Teen Titans save the one named Raven. I am sure you are intelligent enough to guess the reason you are still on Earth."

"You want me to help you find them." It wasn't hard. What was hard was why the Lord Caretaker was apparently allowing her the opportunity to escape.

One that he had apparently considered, as he held up a small collar with an air of indifferent condescension.

"Forty standard years ago, fifty by Earth's reckoning, the Centauri fought a war of independence against Tamaran," he began, before Blackfire interrupted.

"I know, I'm not stupid. Get to the point."

Unfazed by her intrusion, he continued, "During the war, we conceived of many weapons, some highly effective, some ineffective to the point of idiocy."

He focused on Blackfire. "And some never used, for fear that we would erode the public support that we needed to win, that the other races fighting for independence would see us as no better than our Tameranian masters. This neural collar is one of them."

Fastening it around her neck, he continued, "While this neural collar is on, you may not use any of your energy-based powers. Trying to do so will not only be useless as the collar inhibits your neural transducers from absorbing energy, it will also deliver a massive dose of pain to your central nervous system. Flight will also be difficult, as the collar will slowly deliver a steadily increasing dose of pain the longer you fly. As for removal, only I know the sequence, of which there are several million possible sequences."

"And I thought I was the bad guy here," she said, a great deal more flippant than she felt, as she felt the collar extend small tendrils into the back of her neck.

"Desperate times and desperate measures go together, something I learned while fighting for my people's freedom." His voice became colder, as he continued, "We will have your help, whether you like it or not."

(scene change)

"I can't believe you actually did that to her! You're supposed to be the law, for God's sake!" Green Lantern told the Lord Caretaker as the Centauri ship descended to Earth, Blackfire still in her holding cell.

The Lord Caretaker turned to the Green Lantern. "I did what I had to. Would you prefer that we simply take Komand'r back to Centauri Prime and leave the Titans to their kidnappers' mercy?"

"It's preferable to that damned slave collar! I could get the help of the League, and with them on the case the Titans are good as free!"

As the ship shuddered while it passed through the atmosphere, the Lord Caretaker replied, "And how long would that take? As I hear it, the League is constantly needed for international crises. Time is also our enemy here, Lantern Stewart. Like it or not, we need Komand'r's help now, and the collar is the only way to obtain that help."

He looked outside the ship's cockpit. "Besides, Blackfire's part in this goes far beyond simple labour, I will ensure that…"

(scene change)

Raven tried to meditate, but thoughts of her friends kept on intruding in her thoughts. She wondered what had happened to them, whether they were still alive to be rescued, the Green Lantern's reassurances to the contrary.

She tried to meditate again, but it was useless.

"Emptying minds of thought was Beast Boy's specialty, anyway," she said to herself, and smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. That kind of joke was Beast Boy's specialty, too.

Deciding she needed a walk to clear her mind, she exited her room, only to see Officer Cron, standing in front of her door.

"My apologies Raven, but the Lord Caretaker is arriving in a few minutes, and I thought it would be proper if we went to meet him."

"Any news?" Raven asked, falling into step next to Cron.

"Perhaps. The Lord Caretaker has said that he's got the help of the fugitive Blackfire-I'm sorry, did I say anything wrong?" he asked, when Raven suddenly stopped.

"He-he's got Blackfire's help?" Raven asked, aghast.

"I know, I don't pretend to understand it myself."

"No you don't. To you Blackfire was always a criminal; you knew what she was, but we didn't, not at first."

"Ah, she hurt you, didn't she?" Officer Cron asked.

"Maybe not as much as she did Starfire, but…yes."

Her voice trailed into a silence that Officer Cron broke. "That, I can understand, but like it or not, Blackfire is the only source of help we have right now, a fact I'm sure the Lord Caretaker is aware of."

"I know, I know. It's just that, I'm not sure that we can trust her."

"Neither am I, and I'm sure Kai would agree. But whether we like it, she may be the only hope your friends have got."

(scene change)

"What are they keeping us waiting for?" Robin asked, as he paced the cell the Titans found themselves in after they woke up from whatever their captors used to knock them out. As Robin's belt had been removed, the Titans tried other means to release themselves, namely lasers, Tameranian energy bolts and whatever Beast Boy could turn himself into. It was then a problem became evident.

The cage itself seemed to be perfectly normal. However, in a perfectly normal cage, they would have been able to use their powers without being wracked by pain, powering down dangerously, or simply fizzling out, as in Beast Boy's, Cyborg's and Starfire's cases respectively.

"You know, Rob, if you keep pacing your cell like that, you might be able to make us an escape passage!" Beast Boy joked.

"It would help if you're a bit more serious about the situation, Beast Boy."

"Hey, Robin give him a break, he was just trying to lighten the situation up." Cyborg said.

"Please friends, let us not quarrel! It is a trying time for us all, and we will need to stick together more than ever now!" Starfire interjected.

Robin put his hand to his forehead. "Star's right. It's just that I wished I knew what they were planning for us."

From a console connected to a hidden camera pointed to the cell in the middle of the chamber, the unholy alliance with the exception of the Puppet King watched. "So, what are we planning for them?" Trident asked.

"Dunno." Gizmo replied.

"What I want to know is why we are not in the process of killing them painfully and slowly!" Killer Moth said.

"Oi suppose tha' th' big bossman wants to 'ave 'imself th' full set afore 'e let's us play wivvem, ay wot?" Mad Mod asked, more to himself than to the others.

"How is that little cell able to keep all the Titans in there?" Mammoth asked. The others felt that Mammoth had never really got into the spirit of things.

Pressing a few buttons on his armpad, Gizmo shifted the vision, from infrared, to ultraviolet, to-

"Pretty, isn't it?" Jinx said as she saw what was revealed.

Emblazoned on the bars of an apparently normal cage were various magical symbols, the very sight of which filled the watchers with a vague sense of dread. The fact that they glowed red in a visual mode that was otherwise normal only served to frighten the viewers even more.

"Enough, I can't take it any more," Killer Moth said, echoing what the other members thought. After Gizmo shifted the vision back to normal, he turned to Jinx. "Went a little overboard there, didn't you?"

"What? You think I did that? No, that was the Puppet King, he knows a whole lot more about that sort of thing than I thought."

She looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

"In his quarters, said he had a headache." Gizmo said.

"Puppets get headaches?"

Gizmo only shrugged.

(scene change)

The Puppet King placed the seventh, and last candle. Looking around, he made sure that the seven-pointed star, the septagram he drew was correct, with all the relevant symbols in the correct places. He didn't know what would happen if he got it wrong, and he didn't want to find out.

The pounding in his head got a whole lot worse. He didn't want to be kept waiting any longer. Lying down in the pentagram, his head in one point, his arms and legs in the other four, like some kind of sacrificial victim, the Puppet King began concentrated…

"You took your sweet time."

The Puppet King suddenly found himself kneeling near the edge of a cliff, behind of which an endless chasm yawned.

Or rather, screamed with the endless screams of those thrown down there, as endless as the pit was bottomless. In front of him, a great being sat enthroned, its entire self enshrouded in shadow.

"Master, I'm sorry, it's just that-"

"Spare me your excuses, Toy Lord," the deep voice said from what seemed to be the skies above, in what could only be described as a sibilant roar. "I simply wish to ask you how our little project fares."

Reflecting that with his present Master, nothing is rarely ever simple, the Puppet King replied, "it is going exactly as planned, Master. I tried to capture Raven as well, but-"

"You could not do so," the voice finished. "Yes, I know. Her strength is known to me, perhaps more than she knows herself."

The great being seemed to relax in its throne. "But now that she is alone, unaided, she should prove no problem for you and your motley little band, should she?"

"No, Master."

"Good. After you capture her, you may do what you wish with the other Titans. But for Raven, I have some special instructions, which I will reveal to you then."

The being suddenly leaned forward, its body still cloaked in shadow. "Remember, Puppet King, I will brook no failure. I gave you life, and I can as easily take it away. Now go."

With one wave of its hand, the Puppet King disappeared into a rapidly dissipating shadow, his 'soul' passing back to the mortal plane.

(scene change)

Raven held her hand to her eyes protectively as the Centauri prison ship landed atop the Titan Tower. A small hatch opened in its side, revealing the forms of the Lord Caretaker and the Green Lantern.

Along with that of Blackfire, held between them.

As soon as Raven saw the Tameranian exile step off the ship in her restraints, she swiftly repressed the savage exultation that she suddenly felt.

Not that she would not have allowed herself the luxury in different circumstances.

"Hey Raven, long time no see," Blackfire said.

"Not long enough."

Raven could not comprehend how she could still smile like that, how her eyes could still have that mischievous glint in them, when all present knew what she had at the very least been partially responsible for.

"No disrespect intended, Lord Caretaker, but can she be trusted?" Officer Kai asked.

"Don't worry, I've taken the necessary precautions," the Lord Caretaker said, indicating the collar around Blackfire's neck.

"But my Lord, is that, legal?"

"Join the club," the Green Lantern said.

"I'm right here, you know," Blackfire said.

"Trust us, we know." Raven replied.

The Green Lantern turned to the Lord Caretaker. "You sure you can handle things from here?" he asked.

"You need not concern yourself, Lantern Stewart, I am sure that between the four of us, the situation may be controlled."

"'The four of us?'" Raven asked.

"Why yes, I am staying with you for the duration of the search. I cannot return to Centauri Prime without Komand'r, and I cannot do that in good conscience unless I help the Titans."

"All right, but if you need anything…"

"We will inform you, of course. Farewell, and thank you for your assistance, Lantern Stewart," the Lord Caretaker said, shaking the Green Lantern's hand.

With that, the Green Lantern flew off, leaving the five of them standing on the launch pad of the Titan Tower.


	5. Chapter 5: Trust And LoyaltyFirst Among ...

**Chapter Five: Trust And Loyalty-First Among Equals**

The walk from the launch pad to the rec room took only a few minutes, but for Raven and Blackfire, it might as well have taken years.

As the Lord Caretaker had not yet explained to her his unorthodox method of control, Raven did not feel very secure about having to rely on Blackfire's assistance, and probably would not even if he had. Unlike her, he did not have personal experience in dealing with Blackfire.

It wasn't easy for Raven to feel fear, and indeed, she didn't, except…that one time, yet another thing on her personal list of 'things not to talk about'.

The really sickening thing, to her, was that had Blackfire come after that incident, she would have talked about it with her, that she would have taken Blackfire into her confidence, opened up to her.

The fact was that Blackfire wouldn't have even cared.

The fact was that Raven had trusted her, trusted Blackfire like she had never trusted anyone else in her life, and that she had allowed Blackfire access to a part of her life that she had kept hidden from everyone else, even her friends.

The fact was that it made Raven feel, not used, she could live with used, she felt used her whole life before the Titans, but as for what Blackfire did, it made her feel…_dirty_.

If it was her only hope of bringing her friends back alive, she would work with Blackfire, but once that was done, she would not shed any tears when the Centauri took her away to rot in their prisons.

At least, that was what she told herself.

Blackfire, for her part, didn't know what to expect, only that it would probably not be very pleasant, what with the Centauri police on one side, and Raven on the other.

She looked at Raven, looking oh-so betrayed, so hurt. Oh yeah, like you knew what betrayal was. Of all the Titans, she ought to have known how harshly the universe treated you, how it didn't kick you when you were down but put its boot on your neck. The kicking it saved for when you were up, and then always at your head, from behind.

She pulled up to a mental halt. Why did she care about this so much? It wasn't as if Raven would have done the same for her.

Would she?

_No, she wouldn't,_ she thought, mentally shaking herself. _She couldn't. _

She just wanted to get the interrogation over with; she just didn't want to think about Raven any more.

(scene change)

Embedded in one console was a chip sparked with electrical energy. Suddenly, its glow grew even more intense, before it spat itself out to reveal the glowing form of Overload.

"411?" Jinx asked.

"Nothing. No mention of Blackfire or Raven in any electronic media."

"So, oither we've go' ourselves a stroke'a luck, th' Leaguers' usin' le'ers an' carrier pidgies, or…"

"-someone else's involved. Someone the League trusts enough to leave on their own to get us. Blackfire's certainly down." Jinx finished.

"I don't like this," Mammoth said.

"Ooh, izzums pore widdle Mammoth afwaid? Does he want his mama?" Gizmo mocked.

"You foolish biologicals," Overload snarled. "Can't you see that we may have more enemies than our glorious leader informed us of?"

"He's got a point," Killer Moth said. "We're rich, all of us. Why risk ending up like Blackfire? I say we take what we have, and let the Puppet King-"

"No." Mad Mod said.

"What?"

"Oi sed, no. Look, the Titans's 'ready'n our 'ands, an' all we go'a do's wait t' get us th' 'ole set! 'oo cares 'ose comin'! We'll've buggr'd'ff long a'fore then!"

"Well, aren't you nauseatingly optimistic," Trident said. "I agree with Moth. After all, what has the Puppet King actually done? Whenever we do anything, he does not seem to do anything 'cept order us about!"

"I have done nothing?" the Puppet King said from the doorway behind them. "Nothing, except maybe recruit you and plan all our little jobs, including the one that has left the Titans in our grasp!" he shouted.

Most of the villains were cowed, but not Mammoth. "I ain't gonna be pushed around by you, Pinocchio," he said, cracking his knuckles.

"No, I don't need to push."

A moment later, Mammoth was screaming in pain as he was struck by red lightning coming from the Puppet King's fingers, while the other villains, too shocked to react, only managed to watch.

After what seemed to Mammoth to be an eternity of pain, it suddenly stopped, and the Puppet King dropped to the ground kneeling. "Anyone…else…object? Good," he said to the silence, getting up. "Remember, and I know this is a new concept for most of you, but please remember that we are in this together. Blackfire not counted, if I or anyone else should fall, then we all do. The Titans have used this against us, we shall use it against them, or anyone else stupid enough to side with them."

"Now, go. I have plans to make." he finished, before moving back into the shadows.

On the way back to their quarters, Mad Mod found himself pulled into a dark alcove by Jinx. "Oi, wot's this about, then?" he asked her.

"Come on, Mod, don't be stupid," she said in a loud whisper, "You know the others had a point! Yeah, sure, toyboy there's making all the plans, but last I saw, we're the ones taking all the risks! And I don't know about you, but I do not appreciate being kept in the dark about what he's really got planned, nor do I see us playing Happy Families anytime soon!"

"An' yer point'z?"

"The point is that all of us want out! This guy's bad luck, and trust me, I know bad luck!" she added through gritted teeth. "Come on, Mod, you know I'm right, we're right. You saw what he did to Mammoth just now, we need all the help we can get!"

"Oi _know_ wot 'ee did ter Mammoth, an' 'at's why Oi'm na' goin' along wi' yer berkie plans, yeah?"

"He's going to get us all killed!"

At that outburst, Mod paused. "Oi know," he said suddenly. "Bu' y' see, few weeks ago Oi wuz an ol' bugger rottin' awai inna jail cell. Na', lookit me, Oi'm a chipper lad wi' orl th' muscles'n brains'n stuff that Oi nev'r knew Oi forgot, 'mong oth'r things. Th' Puppet King gave'm back t' me. 'S far's Oi'm c'ncern'd, Oi've seen Death, 'tain't nuffin spec."

Jinx took one of her hairbands off and as if some force had been removed, part of her hair fell down upon her shoulders. "Are you sure that there's nothing I can do to change your mind?" she asked seductively, her other hand caressing Mod's arm.

Mod stood shocked there a moment, before he burst into laughter. "Are y' doin' wot Oi think yer doin'? 'Sit even legal?"

"Who cares about 'legal'? We're _criminals_, Mod, and besides, as far as I'm concerned, I'm consenting." She grew serious. "Look Mod, you know what I said. I do think the Puppet King's going to get us all killed, and if the only way to get your help escaping is this, well, I've done worse. At least, this time I get to do the propositioning," she ended huskily, the other hairband removed, and her arms around Mod's neck.

Mad Mod put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away gently. "Oi won't soi Oi'm na' r'ceptive t' yer offer, but Oi'm still gonna say no, onnacount Oi owe 'im. Honour 'mong thieves, roit?"

Jinx put her arms down and set about tying her hair again. "So, you're not with us then?" she asked, in a tone that held the subtle promise of knives in the dark.

And maybe a little disappointment? "Look, let's 'ave us a comp'r'moise, eh? Y' lot do wo'ever y' want, an' Oi won't do anything t' stop yeh, roit? Oi'm th' Pee Kay's 'enchman, na' 'is bleedin' bodyguard."

"I guess." Then Jinx smiled. "Honor among thieves?"

"Honour 'mong thieves," Mod smiled. "Y' jess gotta read th' fine print, is all."

"All right. And my other proposition?"

"Other proposition?"

"Yeah, my other proposition," Jinx said, pressing herself against Mod. "It's still open, you know."

"Later, dear, later." Mod said, smiling.

"Sure?"

"Yeh."

Jinx pulled herself away from Mod, and blowing him a kiss, walked off to the HAEYP quarters.

"So, how'd it go?" Mammoth asked her when she entered.

"Not as badly as I thought it would. Bad news first though: He's not going to help us."

"What? And you let him get away?" Gizmo asked incredulously.

"Stop worrying. He won't rat on us."

"Oh, and you're so sure how?" Gizmo asked.

"Trust me, he won't betray us."

Mammoth chuckled. "Yeah, made some real bad threats, dintcha?"

"What?"

"You were panting a bit when you came in, Jinx. Get pissed much?"

"…Yeah. Jackass wouldn't listen, had to make a point."

Mammoth and Gizmo weren't dumb, Jinx mused as she went to bed. Just a very specialized kind of stupid.

(scene change)

Mod entered his quarters and locked the door behind him.

"An interesting conversation."

Mod turned about to face the Puppet King, suddenly feeling his body freeze with icy terror. "Ah…er…"

The Puppet King waved a hand dismissively. "Don't bother explaining. I understand."

"Y'…y'do?" Mad Mod asked, not believing his luck even more than he disbelieved the Puppet King's words.

"Of course." The Puppet King strode toward Mod, who seemed to shrink as the Puppet King approached. "I hired you," the Puppet King mused, "all of you because for all your failures, your inadequacies, you were by far the most devious, psychotic, incurably criminal members of our great city's society," the Puppet King said, pacing back and forth now. "If I have to expect the occasional attempt at mutiny, no matter. Come with me Mod, I will speak to the Titans."

"Wot?" Mod asked, bewildered at the Puppet King's abruptness.

"I will speak to the Titans, and you shall follow." the Puppet King finished.

(scene change)

"Stop it."

"What?"

"I said stop it."

"Why?"

"It's starting to get annoying."

"Hey, if I want to hum 'It's A Small World', I'll hum it!"

"Yeah, but just the first line over and over again?"

"I like it!"

"Well I don't!"

"Must you fight all the time?" Starfire asked, tired of Beast Boy and Cyborg's constant wrangling.

"YES!" the two of them shouted back at her in unison.

Before Starfire could reply, she felt Robin's hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her away from them.

"But Robin, they're fighting!" she said.

"I know, let them. In some strange way, it's how they cope."

"Cope? How is making each other angry a way to cope?" Starfire asked, genuinely curious.

"I can't say I know, but that's the way they are. Don't worry Star, they'll shout at each other, cool down, and they'll start shouting at each other again," he said wearily.

Starfire looked at him. She noticed for the umpteenth time how tired he seemed. "You should rest, Robin," she said.

"I can't, Star, I just can't!" He kicked the cage. "If I had my belt, I could probably do something, but…"

Robin grasped the bars, as if trying to pull them apart with his bare hands, and then gave up, sagging to the ground.

"What was that Robin?" Starfire asked, when Robin mumbled something.

"I feel so useless." Robin whispered.

At that, Starfire knelt down beside him. "No Robin, you're not useless," she said, alarmed at Robin's sudden break in spirit. "You're our leader!"

"And a fat lot of good I've been so far. Charging into battle and getting us captured, being unable to get us out, for my encore I'll probably get us all killed by whoever's behind this. Heh, you're right Starfire, I'm not useless, I'm worse."

"Robin-"

"Don't you 'Robin' me!" Robin snapped.

"Robin," Starfire whispered, "you're usually not like this." There seemed to be nothing else she could say._ Please don't like this,_ she said in her mind.

"No I'm not! And do you know why? It's because I spend every single day just trying to hold together what must be the world's greatest collection of dysfunctional misfit superheroes, all while trying to fight crime and keep together a normal life! Batman could do it, but I couldn't! I try, but I can't."

Starfire was the first to break the silence that ensued. "You called us superheroes."

Robin looked at her incredulously, and smiled. "Yeah, superheroes. Must you always look on the bright side, Star?"

"Hey, someone's gotta," Cyborg said.

"Yeah, Rob, isn't that what a leader's supposed to do? Get other people to worry about things for him? Guess that's how Bats does it, right? Other people worry about it for him? Besides, if it makes you feel any better, we're useless too," Beast Boy chimed in.

"You're not alone, Robin, we're here for you," Starfire said. Grasping Robin's hand gently, she added softly, "I'm here for you."

"Thanks Star," Robin said. He added, rather sheepishly, "Guess I seemed a bit like a whiny teenager there."

"See? You're already leading a normal life," Cyborg said, when a voice caused them all to turn around.

"Wasn't that nice, Mod?" the Puppet King asked Mad Mod, standing beside him.

"Yeah, was real luvverly, wunnit? Now'f only Oi 'ad meself some salt'n'butter," he said.

"What do you want, Puppet King?" Robin said, angry and not a little flustered.

The Puppet King brought himself closer to the imprisoned Titans. "Why, I merely seek what you seek: enlightenment," he said, his smile seeming slightly more manic, "For example, one of _your_ questions must be why you're all sharing a steel cage instead of having individual pine boxes."

"Know what? Never crossed my mind." Cyborg said jovially.

" 'Ssumin' y'got a mind t'cross," Mod replied.

"And I have my own questions for you," the Puppet King continued, as if there wasn't any interruption.

"We will not answer any of your questions, you, you, _jhorblock_!" Starfire said.

Mod's raised eyebrow was all the answer Starfire needed. The Puppet King just grinned. "Oh yes you will," he said, "Haven't you wondered why your 'apparently normal' cell seems to be able to resist whatever you throw at it?"

The Puppet King waved his hand, and in an instant, red symbols appeared on the bars, floor and ceiling of the Titans' prison, strange, unknowable things that filled the Titans and Mad Mod with what could only be described with the dull dread one feels when one knows death is certain. For some reason, the words 'smim', 'fouder' and 'sankofite' jumped into Robin's head.

"The magic in those…signs will negate anything you could throw at them. Of course, having not being attuned to your powers, you could wear them down in time. But then again, I'm not really concerned about that. That is because the signs have been specially created to be instantly fatal to anyone who uses magic on them. And who can we count on to try use magic to get you out of there?"

"You can't do that!" Beast Boy said, before he turned into a gorilla and grabbed the bars roaring.

"You've defeated me once, Beast Boy," the Puppet King laughed, "But unlike you, I learned from our previous encounter. Trust me, it won't happen again."

And with that, he strode out again, Mad Mod in tow, leaving the Titans in impotent dread.

In the passageway leading from the cage room, the Puppet King turned to Mod. "Do you want to know why we went on that little trip, Mod?"

"O'yeah, y'wanned t'lord it over those li'l beggars, boss, 'taint' nuffin wrong w'it."

"No, Mod, although that was somewhat refreshing. No, Mod, I wanted you to see what I know you're realizing: that I have a lot more power than I have showed our little friends, enough power to not only imprison, but destroy the Titans when the time does come."

He suddenly jumped up to Mod's collar, grabbing it and pulling Mod's face closer to his. "So let's not have any more thoughts of betrayal now, all right?"

"Uh, s-sure, boss. Er…?"

"Yes?"

"Woi are yew only showin' me this? Why na' show it t' th' others, le'em see too? An', an' whoi dintcha do this wif th' Toitans?"

The Puppet King put his head down and was silenced a moment, but when he brought his head up again, his smile somehow seemed a great deal more manic. "Because, Mod, of all the people working for me, you are the only one I can reliably control, not them. That means that unlike you, I don't have to bother showing off my power. I can give them, and the Titans, a first hand practical demonstration."

"In fact, Mod, when this is all over, I plan to." he finished, his eyes taking on a possessed air Mod did not care for at all.

No, not at all.


	6. Chapter 6: Trust And LoyaltyAll For All

**Chapter Six: Trust And Loyalty-All For All**

"Is there anything else you would like to know?" Blackfire asked, leaning back in her chair in the rec room. "I can tell you my shoe size, perhaps, or maybe-"

"Don't worry, Komand'r, I think that we have all the information we need," the Lord Caretaker said.

"I'm so happy I could be of assistance. Call me again if you need me!" Blackfire chirped.

"Of course we will," the Lord Caretaker said, as calm as ever.

Raven could not believe what she was hearing. "That's…it?" she asked quietly.

"Yep, that's it," Blackfire said flippantly.

"I wasn't talking to you."

Blackfire simply stuck her tongue out at her.

"Komand'r, restrain yourself," the Lord Caretaker said. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Raven. "Unfortunately, Raven, the answer to your question is 'yes'. In fact we did not expect as much information as we did get."

"What do you mean? All she did was tell you who the Puppet King was working with."

"True, but given the type of ship she used to fly into your system, it is quite remarkable she had enough time to have the amount of contact she did with this Puppet King. Now that we know his associates, we can begin researching their weaknesses and plan our counterassault."

"You could just ask me."

"Once more, true, but we would like the opportunity to know their weaknesses in relation to Centauri abilities. What may be an impossible task for you may be the simplest of things for us, and the reverse may also apply. Now we shall proceed to your computers and begin our research."

"You can't leave her alone in here!"

"The collar is already a great deal of protection, and furthermore, we shall leave her guarded, of course."

"Good."

"I am glad you approve, Lady Raven. Kai, Cron, follow me."

"What?"

"I am taking Officers Kai and Cron with me. They will need your information as well, being Centauri," the Lord Caretaker said, as if talking to a small child.

Seeing the look on Raven's face, Blackfire broke into laughter. Suddenly, a black tendril wrapped itself around her face, forming a gag.

Ignoring Blackfire's indignant "mmf!"s, Raven said, "I can't guard her."

"Why not?" the Lord Caretaker asked. His tone growing more serious, he continued, "I can see that there is a great deal of animosity between you two, no less than what we bear her, However, whether she likes it or not, she will help us release your friends ("MMF!"), and while we are willing to work with her, I am not sure if you are."

"You want us to be…friends?" Raven asked, menace quietly audible.

"Friends if possible, but associates at least. Now, if you will excuse us…" And with that brusque statement, he strode out of the room, the other two Officers in tow.

"Mmf?"

Raven turned around to look at Blackfire, still leaning back in her chair, gesturing at her mouth. She wasn't sure she wanted to remove the gag. After all, what could Blackfire say to her? "Sorry?" Not likely. Or rather, most likely-Raven could see it now, a "Sorry," with a big mocking smile on her face. Better she keep her mouth shut.

So it was rather surprising to both of them when Raven removed the gag.

"Why, thank-"

"You are my prisoner, and if you make one move false move, you're going down," Raven said. She normally wouldn't say something like that, but living with Beast Boy and Cyborg for two years would have that effect on you.

"Oh Raven, how do you expect us to become friends if you keep on saying such nasty things to me?" Blackfire said, putting her hands to her cheeks. "Now that was a bad idea," she added.

Raven turned away, adding just audibly, "I already have friends."

"And do you know why? It's because unlike me, you need friends," Blackfire responded, just smugly enough to be insulting.

"No. It's because unlike you, I deserve friends." Raven was starting to tire of having to go on the defensive.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blackfire hissed.

Touched a nerve, good. "I deserve friends. You don't."

"Well, lucky you, Raven! Lucky, lucky, lucky! Everybody loves Raven, don't they?" she spat.

Even though it was what she wanted to do, Raven was stunned by the sheer hate in Blackfire's voice.

Getting up from the table, moving eye to eye with Raven, Blackfire continued, "Let me tell you something, Raven: So you got friends, so what? It just shows everybody else just how weak you are! Just look at what's happening now! You lose a few so-called 'Titans', and you find yourself trying to get your worst enemy on your side! Which is a plan that's not working out well, in my opinion!"

"You have my sincerest regrets." Raven said, not cowed in the slightest.

They held eye contact for a while longer, before Blackfire broke off. "I don't need this," she whispered, turning away to sit on her chair again.

Raven stayed silent, quietly exulting in her victory, petty though it may have been. And then, watching Blackfire sulk, she mused at just how different she was from her sister-

It hit her, the realization she was wasting time here, trading barbs and insults with who may be the only person who could help rescue the only family she had ever known.

Looked like she had to swallow her pride.

"Blackfire," she began, "I'm not sure what I said, or why I said it made you angry, but I'm sorry. Can we start this again?"

"That's a speech coming from you, Raven." Then Blackfire heard what Raven had said. "Wait, you want to what?"

"Start again."

Blackfire tried to look for any sign that Raven was making a fool of her; after all, it was what she would have done, but it seemed Raven was telling her the truth. That was a first, at least for Blackfire.

That did not mean she should make it easy for her.

"Well, that's just nice, isn't it? Except, I don't know, we were shouting at each other just a few minutes ago? Or at least, I was shouting. Don't you think that could get in the way?"

"No, it doesn't. I argue with my friends all the time," Raven said, sitting down next to Blackfire. "But after a while we cool down, and we're friends again."

"Yeah, but this isn't about 'being friends again', is it? You just want my help so you can get your 'real' friends back, don't you?" Blackfire said vehemently.

Time to bring this situation under control, Raven thought. "Yes, I want my friends back, and yes, I need your help. No, that does not mean we have to be friends, but it does not mean we have to be enemies either."

Blackfire turned to look at Raven. "Why do you care so much for them anyway?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Because they have been the only family I have ever known. We talked about that the last time you came, remember?"

"No, you talked about it. I just sat and listened," Blackfire said, a smile seeming to ghost her face. Then her face hardened. "I guess that means you consider my little sister part of your 'family' too?"

The sudden change in Blackfire's mood caught Raven off guard. "Yes, I do-"

"Then you can forget it! I'm never doing anything to help that-that little tramp! As far as I'm concerned, she can rot in whatever prison cell she's in! After all, it's exactly what she tried to do to me! Forget whatever the Lord Caretaker said, even if the Gods themselves came down and told me to help you I wouldn't do it!"

Raven finally had enough. "Fine, if that is the way you feel," Raven said, getting up toward the door.

Blackfire watched Raven get up and storm toward the door. Fine, if she wanted to tell the Lord Caretaker about Blackfire's unwillingness to cooperate, like some spoilt brat, then she could go ahead. Like she needed Raven's friendship, especially if it meant having to be…'associates' with her stupid airhead sister.

But then what? Prison? Going on the run again? Just as she had done for who knows how long?

Was she really willing to give up the chance to stop being alone just because she couldn't learn to control herself?

"Raven."

Her hand on the 'open' button, Raven stopped.

"Raven, I'm sorry. It's…can we…"

Wordlessly, Raven walked back to Blackfire and took her seat next to her. "Yes?" she asked.

Blackfire turned to her. "It's not that I do not want to help, Raven. Remember when I was here last, and Cyborg asked if I wanted to join?"

Raven nodded.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing. For the first time in so long, I could finally stop running," she said wistfully, "I had friends, people who liked me, who wanted me to be around them. Guess it says a lot about me that the only people who ever wanted to do that are the ones who never heard of me, doesn't it?"

Raven merely smiled, encouraging Blackfire to go on.

"But as long as my sister was there, I knew I couldn't accept. The sight of her, the mere thought of having to spend time with her, was just too much for me to bear."

"Why?" Raven asked. "She told us you left home while she was just a little girl. What could she have done to you?"

For a few seconds, Blackfire was silent. "It's not really her fault," Blackfire said at last, "It's just that…it's just that whenever I see her, she reminds me so much of my father."

"Your father?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Blackfire said

"You don't have to," Raven said, placing her hand on Blackfire's shoulder.

Blackfire struggled to hold her tears within her, but when she felt Raven's hand on her shoulder, she simply broke down. All the emotions that she had held back for years, her anger, her sadness, were all let out as she buried her face in the base of a bewildered Raven's neck, weeping.

After a few minutes, she stopped. "I'm not weak, I'll have you know," she said, knowing that as soon as she did that it wasn't exactly the most intelligent thing she could have said.

"You're not weak," Raven said. She brought Blackfire up. "Although I must say that was unexpected."

"Sorry, it's just that…that you reminded me of someone."

"Who?"

"None of your business," Blackfire said, but she was smiling when she said it. "Look, I'm not ready to talk about it now, all right?" She paused. "I don't think I'll ever be ready," she added quietly

"Okay." Raven said, smiling back, right before a question entered her mind. "So, you really wanted to join the Titans?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, why, is that an invitation?"

"…No, it isn't. Membership in the Titans is a group decision. I cannot make it alone."

Blackfire was about to reply, before Raven continued, "But I'll help, if you want."

"Yes Raven, I want", Blackfire said. She hugged Raven, and it was at that moment that Raven realized just how much Blackfire wanted what she was offering.

"Blackfire? My friends?"

Blackfire pulled herself away from Raven a bit sheepishly. "Almost forgot about it," she said. Then, the mischievous glint reentering her eye, she asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"All right."

"Do we really have to rescue Starfire? I mean, you'll still end up with a Tameranian in a five person team, no loss," she said, tilting her head and grinning.

Raven's raised eyebrow was all the answer Blackfire needed. "Okay, okay," she said, holding up her hands in mock surrender, "I get it, we'll rescue her too."

As they both got up, she added, "You'll have to admit, it was worth a try."


	7. Chapter 7: Strategems And Schemes

**Chapter Seven: Plans, Stratagems And Schemes**

They found the three Centauri hunched over some of the Titans' computers, with what seemed to be a holographic screen hovering above the keyboards projected from small egg-shaped devices-Centauri translators.

"Greetings, Lady Raven, Komand'r. I trust matters went well?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're friends now, and I'll help her, happy?" Blackfire countered. "What?" she asked, seeing Raven's expression.

"Good," the Lord Caretaker said. "We haven't much time to waste." He brought up a map of the city. Certain parts of the city were highlighted in red. "Our research, based on all relevant information regarding your enemies, has shown these areas to be our adversaries' most likely hiding spots."

"Sheer genius, Lord Caretaker," Blackfire began. "Just one slight problem-that's over half the damn city! What was that you said about time and essence?"

"Blackfire," Raven warned.

"What? I'm supposed to make friends with you," she said, then her voice hardening, "not them," she snapped, turning to the Lord Caretaker, her obedience collar obvious to all.

"As you should be," the Lord Caretaker said mysteriously, before adding, "Returning to the subject, I am well aware of the size of our search area. However, this does not pose a problem, as there may be an alternative."

He turned to Raven. "Lady Raven, we had taken the liberty to research this 'magic' humans seem to be obsessed about. You utilize it, do you not?" Raven nodded. "I ask you because one of the aspects of magic may be of use to us, namely, dowsing."

Raven's eyes widened, images of her walking around the city with a Y-shaped stick flashing in her mind. "Dowsing?"

"Or divining, whatever you will. I propose that you focus your magical powers on these areas to try find your friends. According to the data we have we have gathered, the strong emotional connection you share with your friends will make this considerably easier."

Raven considered the Lord Caretaker's suggestion. It did make a lot of sense; in fact, it was how she and Starfire had managed to keep up with their friends the last time the Puppet King caused trouble.

Starfire…Raven was struck with an idea.

"Lord Caretaker, I can find my friends, if I have Blackfire's help."

"My help? How?" Blackfire asked.

"Well, first, I need you to take off her collar." Raven said.

For the first time, the Lord Caretaker sounded unsure as he replied, "Lady Raven, you are taking quite a risk-"

"I know what I'm getting into, but I may also be able to use Blackfire's feelings toward her sister to help me."

"My Lord," Officer Cron said, "forgive me for interrupting, but personally, I do not trust Blackfire to be…civil without the collar."

"Neither do I, Officer. Lady Raven, are you sure that you need Komand'r's assistance in this matter?"

"Yes," Raven said.

"…Very well. We can of course, trust you to do the right thing," he added pointedly.

Raven nodded. "If I may ask another favor, Lord Caretaker?"

"Yes?" he replied, a bit testily.

"After you remove the collar, I'll need you to leave the room. Your mental noise could be distracting."

After another pause, the Lord Caretaker nodded his assent and moved to remove Blackfire's collar.

Kai and Cron tensed as the Lord Caretaker's mechanical hands released the encoded catch on Blackfire's collar.

"Oh, that feels good," Blackfire sighed, as she felt the familiar stirrings of power course through her. Suddenly her eyes started glowing. "Do you trust _me_ to do the right thing, Centauri?" she purred.

"You only endanger yourself, Komand'r," the Lord Caretaker said as he stood eye to eye with Blackfire, Kai and Cron immediately at the ready.

Raven was about to say something when Blackfire blinked, and the glow in her eyes disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. "You should have seen the look on your faces!" she laughed.

"Are you sure you still desire Komand'r without her collar?" the Lord Caretaker asked Raven, over Blackfire's subsiding laughter.

"I'm sure, as I'm sure about your leaving," Raven reminded gently.

"Of course." With that, the Lord Caretaker stepped out of the room, followed by two very wary Officers.

After the Centauri left, closing the doors behind them, Blackfire turned to Raven. "Truth?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh come on Raven, you may be good enough to fool a simple Centauri, but you're dealing with the best criminal in the Galaxy. I know lying when I see it, and I saw it when you told the Lord Caretaker you needed my help."

"Well, I don't really need your help, but it would certainly be easier with it," Raven admitted.

"And the collar? I h-_dislike_ my sister just as much with or without the collar. So…?"

"My friends have been captured by some of the worst criminals I know, and I am going to need all the help I can get if I want them back." She looked Blackfire in the eye. "You included. I need to be able to trust you."

"So what? What does that have to do with taking off the collar me now?"

"Because I want you to trust me. That's how it works, Blackfire. I trust my friends because they trust me-sometimes you have to give before you can take." Raven sighed. "I know how this sounds, but-"

"Hey, no big deal. You give something, you get something, I understand."

"No, it's more than that, but…I can't explain it," Raven finished lamely.

"Whatever. Look, I get it, Raven."

_No she didn't_, Raven thought, but that could wait. "All right," she said, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"So," Blackfire began, "When you got those Centauri out of the room earlier…?"

"The things we're talking about, I'd prefer that no one else listens. Now, Blackfire?" she said, motioning Blackfire to follow her.

When she had sat down beside her, Raven took Blackfire's hands in her own. "Raven, before we start this…"

"Yes?"

"You said you trust your friends because they trust you."

"Yes?"

"I…I trust you. There, I said it."

For a moment, a smile ghosted across Raven's face. "Thank you, Blackfire. Now," she said, "I need you to think of your sister. Let all your feelings about her flow through you."

Raven chose Starfire as her focus because of all the other Titans, she was sure that she would be the easiest to find, after taking Blackfire's emotions into consideration. However, Raven was unprepared for the intensity of Blackfire's feelings toward her sister.

Struggling to keep the rage, the thoughts that now flowed through her as well under control, Raven concentrated on Starfire, all the while chanting-

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos_ (Starfire, where are you?)

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos_ (Come out sis, show yourself!)

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos_ (Starfire?)

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos_ (Stop hiding!)

Raven felt as if she was flying at an impossible speed through the city. Images of buildings, people, vehicles, all flashed past her before she felt herself stop before what seemed to be an abandoned subway tunnel, above which the modern subway had been built.

Raven plunged into the darkness.

(scene change)

Jinx woke from her sleep with a start. For a moment, she saw-no felt something fly past her. Something that…both burned and chilled her soul, for lack of a better metaphor. She saw Mammoth walk by her bed, half a whole chicken in his hands, the other half being in his mouth. "Mammoth?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm?" he replied, still chewing.

"Did you see anyone come by here?"

Mammoth swallowed. "Nope urp, didn't see anybody. Why?"

Jinx shook her head. "I just thought…never mind. Must have been a dream, or something."

"Probably a nightmare." Mammoth snorted. Seeing the look Jinx gave him, he quickly added, "If that Puppet King creeps you out as much as he creeps _me_ out, I won't blame you."

"Whatever," Jinx replied, and went back to sleep.

(scene change)

The Puppet King however, wasn't asleep. Even if he was, the feeling of being watched would have certainly woken him up. In his previous life, such a thing would have hardly registered with him, but now that he had been infused with magical power, the sensation was almost oppressive.

Strange, though. It felt as if a great wave of love and hate coiled around each other was coursing within the abandoned tunnels. The Puppet King followed it, went closer to where he sensed it flowed.

_There! There it was! No, wait, don't-_

The Puppet King cursed as he felt the sensation disappear as soon as it had come, leaving him no time to track it.

_Wait-_

The Puppet King looked down the corridor where the current headed, the corridor that lead to the Titans' chamber.

"It's about time, Raven, just about time," the Puppet King said.

(scene change)

Raven awoke with a gasp and fell back.

"Raven?" Blackfire asked, reaching out to steady Raven. She had no idea what had happened. Raven started repeating her mantra, and a few seconds later, this happens.

"Call," Raven gasped out, "call the Centauri. I know where my friends are."

(scene change)

"Are you sure about this?" the Lord Caretaker asked.

"Yes. Very sure." Raven replied.

The Lord Caretaker pressed a few more buttons on the holographic display, bringing up a 3-dimensional map of the abandoned subways.

"I think that's where I felt Starfire's presence," Raven said, pointing to what the maps seemed to indicate were solid rock. "I remember going down this passage and turning left here."

"It is not impossible that they have made their own excavations," the Lord Caretaker mused. "Now the question remains: how do we plan our assault-"

"Excuse me? Assault?" Blackfire asked incredulously, an eyebrow raised. "That's the best the Centauri can do? No wonder it was so easy to escape you."

The other two Officers rose up angrily, but the Lord Caretaker held up his claw arm and warded them off. "What do you propose, Komand'r?" he said condescendingly. Had Blackfire not been so agitated, she thought much later, she might have also noticed the slight note of expectation in his voice as well.

As it were, the plan that unfolded in her mind demanded all attention. "Well, Lord Caretaker," she said sweetly, "firstly, I wouldn't dream of altering your plans for a frontal assault! It's just that, I'm not like you soldier boys, I'm just a common criminal," she added sadly.

"Get to the point," Officer Kai growled.

"Simply put, you guys do whatever you do on a frontal assault, while me and Raven go rescue the Titans, how about that?"

"If you think you can leave us with all the risk-"

"No," the Lord Caretaker said. "Her plan is surprisingly feasible, considering the circumstances."

"My Lord, forgive me for questioning your wisdom, but…"

"When you became Officers, you knew the risks that you would have to take. And considering Komand'r's expertise in, shall we say,_ infiltration_, we would not have to fight very long-merely long enough to distract the enemy from the rescue."

"But we would have to trust Komand'r to do her job, and if I may be plain, _that_ is a risk I am unwilling to take."

"I'll watch her." Raven said.

"I think we'd far more than you to keep Komand'r in line," Officer Cron said.

"But we don't have such resources," the Lord Caretaker said. "As it is, Raven is all we have now." He turned to Raven. "I hope you prove worthy of such trust."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Raven was surprised that those words didn't come out of her mouth.

"I'm simply hoping Raven would be up to the task of keeping you under control, Komand'r."

"Keep me under control, Lord Caretaker?" Blackfire whispered, eyes narrowing into slits.

"Enough!" Raven said. She looked directly at the Lord Caretaker. "Lord Caretaker, make your plans. I and Blackfire will assist you later. For now I need to speak to her in private."

"Of course, Lady Raven."

As soon as Raven and Blackfire were out of earshot, Officer Cron spoke to the Lord Caretaker. "Forgive my impertinence Lord, but seems we're leaving them alone with each other much too often."

"Why are you so worried, Cron? Don't you trust the Lady Raven?"

"I don't know her well enough to do so, but I do know she has been deceived by Komand'r before, and as I said before, her I do not trust."

"I agree, Lord," Kai said, "It seems unwise to leave such a vital part of our plan to Blackfire. Besides, my Lord, you have far more important duties on Centauri than to assist a group of Human children-"

"No, Kai, I don't," the Lord Caretaker said, menace quietly audible. "These 'children', Officers, are like us. They have chosen to dedicate their lives to combat whatever darkness the Universe chooses to place in front of them. That alone makes us honor-bound to help them. Cron," he continued, turning to the Officer, "all will become clear in time, but for now, all I will say is that Blackfire has the potential to become either our greatest friend with Raven's help or our worst enemy without it. I do not intend to make a mistake in this regard. Understood?"

The two Officers, now thoroughly disciplined, accepted.

"Now," he said, turning to the map, "as you can see…"

"Let me guess, Raven. You'd like me to control my emotions, 'cause they're probably so destructive your Centauri friends might be offended gasp!" Blackfire said, placing both palms on her cheeks. "Can't have that, can we, Raven?"

"That's not what it's about, Blackfire."

"And I guess you're about to tell me what it_ is_ about then."

"Blackfire, you of all people should know what the Centauri could do to you if they wanted to."

"I'm a thief, Raven, not a murderer. Under Centauri law, I cannot be executed, just imprisoned. And there's no prison, Centauri or otherwise, that can hold Blackfire."

"And then you run."

"Hey, it's worked before."

For a moment Raven was silent. "If that is the way you feel, so be it. I see you lied when you said you were tired of running."

This time, it was Blackfire's turn to be silent. "I am, Raven. I don't want to run, but I will if I have to."

"And do you have to?"

Blackfire looked surprised for a moment, and then sighed. "No, I guess not."

"No you don't," Raven confirmed. Grasping Blackfire's hands, she looked her straight in the eye and said, "I am your friend, Blackfire, and I will protect you, but only if you protect yourself."

"Does that mean I have to be nice to the Centauri?" Blackfire said, smiling wanly.

"If you have to."

"And I guess I have to."

"Yes."

"Really?"

Now Raven was smiling. "Really." Yes, she was definitely spending too much time with Beast Boy and Cyborg.

Speaking of whom… "So, Blackfire?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help, and if I get angry, I'll remember to save it for my ex-friends. Hells, if you want me to, I'll give the Centauri my biggest smile-how's this?" she teased, giving Raven the most grotesquely wide smile she had seen.

"Maybe not so much." Raven said, as they walked back to the Centauri. It was going to be dawn in a few hours, and they had a job to do.


	8. Chapter 8: Wood Vs Fire, Oak Vs Raven

**Chapter Eight: Wood Vs Fire, Oak Vs Raven**

"See? Told you I felt something."

"Shut up Jinx."

The HAYP trio were among the villains walking toward the subway junction that formed the entrance to their lair. "Hey, Mod, you sure these traps of yours'll work?" Gizmo asked. He didn't like the Cockney, ostensibly because he was an obnoxious idiot, but also (although he'd never admit it) because of the jealous suspicion that Mod was smarter than he was.

"Wot? Uh, yeah, 'ey'll werk, werk roit good they will," Mod replied.

"Hello? Earth to Mod? SNAP OUT OF IT!" Jinx shouted, snapping her fingers.

"Ah, hush yew," Mod replied, but without much feeling, he felt so unsure. When the Puppet King sent him to wake up the other villains, Jinx had not reacted toward him in any way he would have expected of someone propositioning him just a few hours before.

He inwardly groaned. So 'at's 'ow th' Puppet King 'ad found out; 'ole thing was prolly nuffin' more'n an 'llusion, test'a 'is loyalty. No wonder the PK sent 'im out 'ere-prolly wanted t' punish 'im-

"Quiet! I hear someone coming!" Killer Moth said.

"Good," Overload replied, 'arms' crackling with electricity, "I was getting bored."

Trident, all of them, wished they shared Overload's confidence. After the debacle at the warehouse, there were but a few of them left, and there had not been enough time to clone more. Their only consolation was that as far as they knew, Raven was the only Titan left. On the other hand, she may have help that none of them knew about, and that wasn't consoling at all.

In his sanctum, the Puppet King prepared himself. As far as he was concerned, it was going to be a good night; either he won, and he killed whoever of his 'compatriots' who survived, or he won, and all his compatriots died. One way or another, he'd get Raven, and his Lord would get a sacrifice of wicked souls, further increasing his Lord's favor.

Ah yes, Raven. If only she knew what she was getting herself into.

Even now, as he stood in the middle of the septagram that formed the conduit between Earth and Hell, he felt liquid flame flow through his body. If he had nerves or blood vessels, he would have felt them course through them. As it were, he felt it as a rising heat in his wooden self. No matter what happened, Raven would find herself very hard-pressed to face him tonight.

_Yes… yes, that's more like it,_ he thought to himself.

_Come, Raven, come to me. I am ready for you._

(scene change)

Among the Titans, the villains' increasing agitation wasn't lost on them.

"What's happening?" Beast Boy asked no one in particular. "There a fire or something?"

"It seems they're expecting something…or maybe someone," Robin said.

"Someone? Like Raven? Oh, I knew she'd come to our rescue!" Starfire said, clasping her hands together.

"Er, guys?" Cyborg said. "Sorry to bring this up, but even if Rae gets past all those goons, how's she going to get us out?" he said, pointing to the bars of their cage, glowing with evil runes just hours earlier.

"Come on, Cy, that was probably some light show Tolstoy there put on just to scare us," Beast Boy said.

"Tolstoy?"

"Yeah, you know, that dude who wrote the Nutcracker thing? See, I do do culture."

"BB, that's Tchaikovsky." Cyborg said, eyebrow raised.

"Whatever, some Russian dude who sounds like a sneeze."

"And you wonder why Raven doesn't like you."

Beast Boy gave Cyborg a dirty look before continuing "Anyway, even if they're _real_ really evil runes, Raven'll think of something, she always does. No offence Robin."

"None taken. Besides, Raven does not seem to be the kind of person to charge into battle." Robin then remembered how they got captured in the first place. "At least, not without backup," he corrected.

(scene change)

"Typical Centauri efficiency," Blackfire said, as she and Raven waited next to the section of wall they had targeted as a possible second entrance. With any luck, none of their enemies would know about Raven's ability to create short distance portals.

"They're risking their lives. They have a right to be careful," Raven replied.

"And what about your friends' lives? You want to risk them too?" Blackfire retorted.

"Losing control would be even less help to them," Raven said. In fact, she was as anxious, if not more for the Centauri distraction to begin.

No, no emotions. She could not let her emotions take control. She breathed heavily, and began the silent meditation process.

A few feet away, Blackfire stood and watched incredulously as Raven slipped into meditation. I mean, meditation? At a time like this? Blackfire shrugged, and began her own preparations. She allowed memories, memories that she had kept hidden for years to rise to the surface, letting the rage they brought fuel her own abilities.

_No, father-_ Blackfire's voice echoed in her mind. Almost there, she thought.

_It wasn't her fault!_

Better, better.

Then she heard her father's voice-_Good. Take her away._

Blackfire's eyes burned.

Raven came out of her meditative state, disturbed by a sudden burst of hate. She looked up to see Blackfire staring at nothing in particular. But what was more disturbing was the fact that both her eyes and her hands were not just glowing with power, they were crackling with it. Small bolts of lavender lightning seemed to be arcing back and forth from her hands, across her arms, and to her eyes, and then back again.

"Blackfire?" Raven hesitantly asked. "Blackfire, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, why do you ask? Oh, this?" she asked, indicating the energy arcing around her. "Look, you prepare your way, and I'll prepare mine."

When Raven still did not look convinced, Blackfire sighed and continued, "Look, Raven, I need my emotions to do my job. Without them I'm powerless."

"And what if you get too powerful?"

"Raven, you can never be too powerful."

Raven was about to reply when the halls rang out with a Centauri battle cry. "Ah, there's the distraction. So, are you going to open the portal, or shall I?"

Having no illusions as to what Blackfire meant, Raven traced a circle in the wall behind her, creating a black hole to the other side of the wall.

"Spoilsport." Blackfire said before she stepped into the portal.

At another end of the tunnel, Mad Mod was being unpleasantly surprised. These three strange armored attackers were like nothing he had seen before, waltzing through his traps as if they weren't even there. Illusions that should have sent them halfway across the city in circles, optical flares that would have otherwise blinded them, all ineffective.

"Not so 'chipper' now, are we?" Gizmo said, gloating.

"Shut up, yeh, li'l blighter afore Oi-"

Mod's next words were droned out by Mammoth's scream as he charged the three strangers.

Or at least, as he attempted to charge them.

From what seemed to be a claw like attachment on the lead figure's golden armor a green tentacle shot out, grabbing Mammoth around the waist and throwing him to the ground.

"Looks like the Titans got some new friends with new tricks," Jinx said, firing at them.

"Like that'll save them," Gizmo agreed, launching his own laser barrage along with Overload's lightning.

Much to their chagrin, however, the strangers displayed a great deal more agility than they would have expected from their bulk, dodging their shots easily.

One of them, in red armor, seemed to want to charge toward their left, but found itself seized from behind by Killer Moth, while the other two found themselves confronted by Tridents.

"Hey Mod, you just going to stand there, or am I gonna have to beat you up?" Mammoth asked, getting up. But Mod was barely listening. What he was doing was looking at the combatants. Counting them.

"Oh, bugger," he said, suddenly, he ran back from where he had come. "Hey Mod, the hell you going!" Mammoth said.

"I'll get him," Jinx said, running after him.

"Jinx! JINX!" Gizmo shouted, before turning back to the battle in disgust. Unlike those two kludgeheads, he had a job to do.

(scene change)

"That was…strange," Blackfire said, emerging from the portal into another dark tunnel, with Raven following a moment later.

"It does get some getting used to," Raven confirmed.

"OK, now what?" Blackfire asked.

"You die, of course," the Puppet King replied from the other end of the tunnel, raising both his hands and firing.

Blackfire narrowly dodged one bolt, but Raven had chosen to erect a dark shield around her.

When the beam hit, for a split second Raven thought her shield could take it, when it suddenly failed, and she was hit in the chest with the full brunt of the blast.

"Raven? RAVEN!" Blackfire shouted.

"Forget her, Blackfire, you have bigger things to worry about," the Puppet King said. "You know, I never thought I'd see you fighting on their side."

"What can I say, we've only knew each other for a few minutes," Blackfire replied blithely.

"Yes, we have," the Puppet King said, suddenly firing off another volley at Blackfire.

Raven was suspended in a dark void.

All around her, peace.

She wished it could continue.

But she felt hands.

Pulling her back.

She didn't want to go.

"Remember Blackfire," a man's voice said.

Raven awoke with a start to find herself staring into the face of a handsome young man-Tameranian, judging from the facial features. She looked around, and while both her and the man were outlined and detailed clearly, the world around them seemed to be made out of smoke, moving in what appeared to be extremely slow-motion.

"You are in what some human psychics call 'Swedenborgian space', the realm between life and death. I doubt the Puppet King wanted this to happen-his orders were to bring you back alive," the man said.

Now that Raven was more awake, she could take in a few more details about the strange Tameranian, and what she saw surprised her. Apart from his clothing, which seemed to be nothing more than a masculine version Blackfire's armored purple coat, his features, especially his eyes and thin mouth, recalled Blackfire.

"Are..are you Blackfire's...?" Raven asked, too overwhelmed to finish the question.

He smiled. "No, I'm not her male 'friend', however you mean it, and she's, well, not exactly my mother, either."

"Not exactly?" Raven asked, puzzled. She made to ask another question, but the man stopped her.

"I know that you have a lot of questions, Raven, but you don't have the time," he said seriously, before adding with another smile, "I _can_ assure you that all your questions will be answered. Now, Raven, you must save Blackfire's life as I will save yours."

As he started fading away, and the scene around her began to seep into reality, Raven had to know. "Wait- what orders? Save my life?Who are you?"

"Escand'r. My name is Escand'r." he said before-

-Raven woke up to see, behind her, a pitched battle between Blackfire and the Puppet King, whom she was behind.

She could worry about this Escand'r later. For now, Blackfire was in trouble.

The Puppet King was having a good night. While Blackfire had to aim before she let off any of her bolts, so as to avoid hitting Raven or bring down masonry on her, the Puppet King had no such reservations.

"If I knew you were this soft, Blackfire, I would have had you killed for being an insult to our profession!"

Blackfire was about to reply when she saw the Puppet King encased in a globe of darkness that was quickly thrown behind her.

"Blackfire, when I give the signal, shoot the ceiling above him." Raven said. Suddenly, the globe around the Puppet King disappeared, but before Raven could say anything else, Blackfire blasted the ceiling above him, burying a screaming Puppet King under a few tons of soil and masonry.

"That's what you wanted to do, right?" a panting Blackfire asked Raven, who nodded. "Good. Sorry about not waiting for your signal, but I was never any good at taking orders."

"That's obvious," Raven said. She looked behind her. "This way, they're this way," she said, pointing to a brightly lit corridor.

As the two of them sped off into the distance, pebbles on top of the rubble began to shift position…

(scene change)

"Bloody 'ell!" Mad Mod said when he saw the massive pile of concrete and dirt before him.

"My sentiments exactly, Mod," Jinx said, hovering in the air behind him. "It's not nice to run away from your friends, Mod.'

"Friends? Yeah roit, pull th' other 'un, 's got bells on," Mod said. "Wot yew an' y' 'friends' don' know's tha' Raven's makin 'er move roit now! Those buggers't th' fronts jess d'versions!"

"So what?" Jinx said quietly.

"Eh wot?"

"Look Mod, I know all about bad luck, and from what I've heard and seen, the Titans are all bad luck, at least for us."

"Look, I can't care less 'bout th' Puppet King, but the Titans-"

"Forget the Titans!" Jinx came down to face Mod. "Look, I'm sick and tired of having my butt kicked by those fashion rejects, and last I heard, England didn't have any kiddy superhero teams running around! Come on, Mod," she added, her voice softening, "you're not his bodyguard."

"Wot about yer 'friends'?" Mod asked.

Jinx snorted. "Number one, Gizmo's a self-centered little rat who once escaped and never did anything for his two 'friends', and Mammoth's an idiot, basically. Besides, you still haven't answered my proposition."

Mod looked behind him, at where the Puppet King was buried under a pile of rock. "No, Oi ain't," he said, breaking into a wicked smile. "Looks loik's back ter luvverly England, innit?"

As they ran off into another passage, Jinx asked him, "What made you leave anyway?"

"A combo 'tween th' damn French an' th' 2000 World Cup."

"Huh?'

"Nevyewmoind," Mad Mod said bitterly, " 'Twas jessa bloody embarassin' time t' bey'n Englishman."

(scene change)

"Raven!" Starfire squealed happily when she saw her friend enter. Then when she saw who else entered- "Sister!"

"Hello Starfire, it's so good to see you again."

"It is indeed nice to see you again, sister, but release Raven from your mind control at once!"

"Don't worry, Starfire, she's on our side," Raven said.

"AAH! Release Raven from your mind control at once!" Beast Boy said frantically.

"Still a comedian, I see," Blackfire laughed.

"I wasn't joking, Blackfire!"

"Hey, made me laugh."

"Quiet, you two," Raven commanded. "Don't worry, _we'll_ get you out," she said to her friends, plainly emphasizing the 'we'.

"Yes we will," Blackfire said, aiming a starbolt at the bars.

Robin tried to stop her. "Wait-"

When the starbolt hit the bars, it was exactly as the Titans had expected- a bright flash, loud boom, and absolutely nothing done to the cage.

"Hmm, that was louder than I had expected." Blackfire said.

"I tried to warn you," Robin said reproachfully. "The bars have been strengthened magically."

"Or maybe it wasn't a strong enough bolt. Come on, let's try that again!" Blackfire said impishly, raising another glowing hand.

"No, Blackfire." Raven said.

"Aw, please?"

"No."

Blackfire crossed her arms in mock petulance. "You never let me have any fun."

"That can come later. For now, we have more serious problems."

"Yeah, like not being able to use magic to get us out," Beast Boy said.

Raven spun around. "What do you mean?"

"He's right Rae-according to the Puppet King, if you try to use magic on the bars, you'll die."

"And you believed him?" Blackfire said incredulously, an eyebrow raised.

"Look-whoa, Raven, what are you doing?"

Blackfire turned, and gasped in surprise when she saw Raven's eyes glowing.

"He's right, Blackfire," Raven said, "I see them." Her eyes returned to normal as she continued, "I'm not sure about whether it would kill me, but-"

"Oh, it will, my dear Raven, it will."

Raven and Blackfire spun around in shock to face the Puppet King. Even with his uniform in tatters, his crown gone and his wooden surface scratched and chipped the Puppet King still cut a menacing figure.

"Surprised, ladies?"

"Not really," Blackfire said, a moment before she blasted the Puppet King with violet fire.

Or at least, tried to.

"Come now, Blackfire," the Puppet King said in the blood red shell that suddenly encased his body, "death itself could not stop me, what more a few rocks and energy bolts! Now, if you'll excuse me-" he added before firing off another bolt of red lightning.

Blackfire tried to dodge it, it seemed slow enough, but what she did not count on was it changing direction to hit her, enveloping her in red energy and sending her crashing down onto the ground.

"Blackfire!" Raven and Starfire shouted in unison.

"Cold…so…cold…" Blackfire whispered as she lay shivering and pale on the concrete floor.

"Now it's your turn, Raven," the Puppet King said, "You know, I still remember how you and your friend killed me, and although I can't return the favour, that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun," he finished, raising a hand

"Raven…" Beast Boy warned.

"I know what I'm doing," she whispered back, her body tensed.

But instead of the red beam she had been expecting, what appeared to be a red clawed hand appeared in the air in front of the Puppet King.

The Puppet King was clearly enjoying this. "Come on, Raven, you didn't think I'd be that stupid, did you?"

Raven cursed under her breath as she dodged the talons swiping at her. She glided across the ground moving to avoid the Puppet King's strikes, trying to figure out a plan.

Robin surveyed the scene. He could not bear this-one of his friends was in trouble and he could not do anything about it. The fact that none of the other Titans in the cage could help either didn't make it better.

Evidently they were thinking the same thing too. "Hey Robin!" Beast Boy began, "We gotta do something, man! We can't leave Raven alone like that!"

"I know, I know, I'm trying to think of something!" Robin replied, when suddenly the thought hit him-what would Batman do?

He placed one hand on his head, trying to think. "What would Batman do? What would Batman do?" he said to himself.

"I dunno," Cyborg said, puzzled at Robin's abrupt change of subject. "He'd try to talk the badguys out of whatever they were doing?"

"That's it!" Robin said. "Hey, Raggedy Ann! How did it feel to be beaten by a bunch of kids?" he shouted to the Puppet King.

Realizing what Robin was trying to do, the other Titans joined in. "Yeah, I guess we really pulled his string that time, Robin!" Cyborg added. Beast Boy was content with a highly annoying chant along the lines of "neener-neener-neener!"

"You're still as…as…as stupid as you were before!" Starfire said. For some reason, this seemed to have the most effect on the Puppet King.

"Oh, you think so, do you?"

"Yes I do! You are horrible and nasty and evil and-"

"ENOUGH!" the Puppet King shouted. "I cannot kill Raven, but I wasn't told anything about you!"

"Ooh, you did it now, Star," Beast Boy said in a frightened voice.

His painted eyes burned with rage. "I was saving this until after you saw what I will do to Raven, but I for one never liked surprises," he said, before raising his other arm.

Inside the cage, the runes began to glow visibly as they did before, but with an intensity that immediately brought the Titans to their knees, as they felt themselves sickening by the minute.

"Robin…I don't feel…Robin…" Starfire said, feeling extremely sick in every cell in her body. Robin himself was too ill to reply. Beast Boy was already unconscious, and as the light of Cyborg's body faded, he knew that his life would soon follow.

Raven was still busy dodging the hand, but as the cage began to glow, she noticed that the hand seemed more erratic, more unfocused as the Puppet King concentrated more and more on tormenting her friends. If only she knew what to do. She had a plan, but she wasn't sure if it would work, and whether it did or didn't it would certainly kill her…

Then she saw the state of her friends, and decided. If this that was she would have to do for her family, then so be it.

She raised her hand, planning to negate the cage's magical powers with her own magical energies, when she saw the cage suddenly lifted into the air.

_Blackfire!_ Raven thought, a rare feeling of hope entering her heart. But what was she trying to do?

It soon became evident what it was when Blackfire raised the cage above her head with surprising speed and strength to throw it at the Puppet King.

Suddenly the hand and cage's glow disappeared as the Puppet King reflexively erected a magical shield.

Too late, he saw what he was doing-or rather, what was going to happen.

As the cage made contact with his shield, the runes immediately discharged their energies into the hapless Puppet King, sending a massive wave of demonic energy into him.

There was a bright flash of red light, and the next thing Raven saw was the burning wreckage of the Puppet King's wooden body land at her feet.

The bars of the cage, now on its side, bent as Cyborg pushed them apart and fell down to the ground, tired. The other Titans were quick to follow.


	9. Chapter 9: New Days, Endless Nights

**Chapter Nine: New Days, Endless Nights**

"What cough was she trying to do?" Beast Boy said, "Kill us?"

"She just saved your life," Raven said, running to Blackfire's prone form in front of the cage bottom. After she had made her literally superhuman effort, Blackfire collapsed, the last of her strength spent.

Raven lay her hands on Blackfire's forehead, but when she tried to heal her, she realized that given the limited amount of life energy she could transmit through her hands, she would not be able to direct enough energy to Blackfire in time to save her. There was only one thing she could do.

Holding Blackfire in a tight embrace, she felt the energy flow out of her entire body, infusing Blackfire with the life she so desperately needed.

"You know, that would be totally hot if it weren't for the fact that it's Blackfire," Beast Boy said.

Raven apparently neither heard nor cared as she stayed there. Finally she let out a tired breath and let Blackfire gently down to the ground.

For a moment, nobody dared move, not knowing what would happen next. Then Blackfire opened her eyes and smiled impishly, if a bit weakly. "You know, Raven, that wasn't so bad," she said.

Before anyone could reply, there was a large blast from behind them, with bits of rock and clouds of dust from the rubble the Puppet King had previously been buried under flying into the corridor.

"Let me guess, more trouble," Cyborg said, raising his cannon.

None of the Titans or Blackfire wished a fight now, but it appeared that they had no choice. They steeled themselves before seeing three large figures become visible in the dust.

"If I remember our plan correctly, Lady Raven, you were supposed to relieve us," the Lord Caretaker said wryly, emerging from the smoke.

(scene change)

Later, they oversaw the police bringing most of the unholy alliance into custody, with the exception of Mad Mod and Jinx, who had successfully escaped into the tunnels. Not that the Titans or Centauri in any condition to pursue.

After that, they went into the predawn air to the top of Titans Tower to await the Javelin-7, which would escort the Centauri ship out of Earth space.

"So, I guess this means I get a reduced sentence now, right?" Blackfire asked the Lord Caretaker.

"Maybe," he replied enigmatically.

"Maybe? What do you mean, maybe?"

"Wait until Lantern Stewart gets here," the Lord Caretaker said.

Blackfire looked at Raven, who shrugged slightly. None of the other Titans seemed to know what he was talking about either.

When the Javelin landed and the Green Lantern stepped out, the Lord Caretaker said, "Good tidings to you, Lantern Stewart."

"And to you Lord Caretaker. I suppose you wanted more than a simple escort?" he asked jovially.

"Just a few questions answered. Tell me, Lantern Stewart, is the Javelin the only ship Earth has that is warp-capable?"

"At the risk of you guys invading us, yes it is. Even re-engineering Thanagarian technology, it's still going to take us guys a long time before we get more warp ships. The only reason we have this one's because we lugged out the last working Martian engine J'onn managed to find. Why do you ask?"

"You will see in a moment," the Lord Caretaker said. "First, I have another question, Lantern Stewart: can anyone pilot your ship?"

"Well, no," Green Lantern said, "Piloting the ship requires not only that you provide retinal and fingerprint scans, but also several other classified tests to ensure only members of the League can pilot it."

"Ah, good," the Lord Caretaker said, before turning to the assembled Titans, "Komand'r, of the House of 'and'r of Tameran, I, as the Lord Caretaker of the Centauri people, hereby pronounce sentence upon you: As of now, your sentence shall indeed be reduced; you are hereby freed from Centauri confinement, and indeed, all cases against you will be suspended."

He continued, "I emphasize 'suspended', as all cases against you will be reinstated should you ever leave the confines of Earth without the consent of either the Centauri Lord Caretaker or the unanimous consent of the Titans, of whom you will be a part of until either you receive our permission to leave or their unanimous consent to leave." He relaxed a bit. "It is a bit wordy, I know, but it gets the job done."

There was a shocked silence as the rest of them digested this information. Then the silence erupted as everybody tried to speak at once.

"You can't-"

"I can't-"

"WHAT!"

Officer Cron was the first to make his opinion heard. "Lord Caretaker, with all due respect, Komand'r has proven herself to be highly untrustworthy, and indeed, a danger to all around her, and you would leave her on Earth?"

"Yeah man!" Beast Boy added. "You got your unanimous consent right here!"

"No you don't." Raven said quietly.

Everyone focused on her as she continued, "In case some of us have forgotten, she saved your lives in there. I think that she should be forgiven and allowed another chance to join us."

For a moment, the assemblees were silent. Then Robin spoke up, "If we kicked out everyone who had betrayed, or at least, lied to us, then I would have been the first to go. I won't trust her immediately, but I'm willing to give her a chance."

Starfire looked from Robin to Raven. "Raven, do you trust my sister?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Well, if Raven and Robin say it's alright, then…maybe? But only if she behaves herself!" she added, wagging her finger in all seriousness.

"I'm not too sure about this, but I trust Rae. If she says Blackfire can stay, I'm okay with that." Cyborg added.

"Helooo! Am I the only one who's sick of having my butt stabbed?" Beast Boy shouted.

"Back stabbed," Cyborg corrected.

"Whatever! First Blackfire, then Robin, then Terra, and now Blackfire again! For what it's worth, I say she should be on that ship in chains!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Blackfire said.

"See? She couldn't agree-huh?"

"Oh please, don't look so surprised! At least I could escape from a Centauri prison!"

"But do you want to?" Raven asked.

Blackfire opened her mouth. It wasn't the question she had expected. "Well…er…"

Raven nodded. "Next time, don't let your pride do the talking." Ignoring the offended look Blackfire gave her, Raven told the Lord Caretaker, "I think she stays."

"Very well then, Lady Raven," the Lord Caretaker said. "I am very pleased indeed that we have reached a satisfying conclusion. Come along now Officers, we have neglected our duties long enough," the Lord Caretaker said, stepping into his ship.

After the Titans watched the two ships disappear into the sky, Blackfire said, "So now, Raven, because of you, I'm stuck on your little backwater planet. What do you plan to do about that?"

Raven stood silent for a moment, as she watched the sun's rays herald the dawn. "Well, first, I'd like for us to have breakfast," she said, in the light of a new day.

In more ways than one.

(scene change)

The Puppet King felt himself falling further and further down into the darkness He knew what to expect. It had happened to him once before. However, this time he knew what would be awaiting him…

As before, he found himself perched on the edge of the great cliff.

"What, oh what, am I to do with you?" the voice of his Master asked from his dark throne.

"I tried my best, Master, I did, please, allow me another chance for revenge-"

"I know you tried your best, Toy Lord, but it was obviously not enough, was it? And because of that, your revenge will have to be," here the voice took on the aura of infinite malice, "indefinitely postponed."

"No, Master-"

"Oh, don't worry, Toy Lord, I never thought you would succeed anyway. In fact, I would go so far as to say you were never meant to succeed anyway."

"M-master?" the Puppet King asked, hardly believing what he was hearing.

"Come now, I am a demon! You don't honestly think I would ever set free a soul I had earned, do you? No, you were just there to gather information-information about your quarries, information that I have gathered. Information that I will give to my true agent on the Earthly plane." The Puppet King could hear the cruel laughter in his voice as he continued, "You were a wonderful dupe, a most excellent…puppet."

"No," the Puppet King whispered.

"And now, my dear Toy Lord, you will learn what happens to those who chose to serve demons without understanding the consequences," his Master said.

The Puppet King suddenly felt a tremendous force lift him off his feet and cast him screaming into the bottomless pit behind him.

And he would scream .

Forever and ever.

Watching the imbecilic plaything disappear into the endless void, the demon set his own essence to finding that of his finest servant.

_Yesss, my Lord?_ thought a voice like a thousand serpents.

_My servant, I have a certain task for you to undertake._

_My life in your ssserviccce, Lord._

_I grant you knowledge of your newest quarry, so that you may undertake your duty to me._

_Ah yesss, your daughter. I sssee._

_You know what to do when you have her, my servant._

_Ka-hsss, of courssse, of courssse, my Lord Trigon, sssssss…_

Coming soon: In The Shadow Of The Serpent


End file.
